Rams News

Fisher says agent was 'completely objective' in job decision

2012-01-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

NFL.com

St. Louis Rams got their guy Friday when Jeff Fisher agreed to choosing the NFC West cellar-dwellers over South Beach and the Miami Dolphins.

A footnote throughout the courtship of Fisher has been the fact that Rams executive vice president of football operations and COO Kevin Demoff is the son of the coach's agent, Marvin Demoff.

Sports Illustrated reported Monday that some in the league believe there could have been possible collusion on the part of Fisher and the Demoffs. Fisher denied the claims, saying his agent had no influence on his decision to go to St. Louis.

"Under no circumstances at any time," Fisher said. "I have 100 percent conviction on that. This was my decision, and Marvin assisted me. I was the one who decided. No one pushed me anywhere."

Fisher was the top head-coaching candidate of both the Rams and Dolphins, and NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora that numerous league sources expected the former Tennessee Titans coach to choose St. Louis. Fisher explained the process of how he settled on the Rams.

"From (Day 1), when I began this process after the season, I felt Miami and St. Louis were my best options," Fisher said. "I did my research. I looked at every team that had an opening. I looked at the personnel on each team, I looked at the owners, I looked at the cap situations, and I narrowed it to two. Not Marvin. Me. Marvin didn't push me. I am convinced he was completely objective."

Rams lose; future for Spags, Devaney up in the air

2012-01-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

It's over for the Rams in 2011. Is it now over for coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney following Sunday's 34-27 loss to San Francisco? Initial indications were that a decision would be made quickly, probably on Monday, according to league sources.

Team sources tell the Post-Dispatch that the Rams have made no decision at this time on whether to fire Spagnuolo and Devaney. ESPN reported that they've been fired.

The Rams made things interesting, with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to narrow their deficit from 34-13 to 34-27. But that's as close as they got as San Francisco ran out the clock in the final 2½ minutes to play in the Edward Jones Dome.

The Rams finish their season at 2-14, tied for the second-worst since the move to St. Louis in 1995. By virtue of Jacksonville's 19-13 victory over Indianapolis, the Rams will pick No. 2 overall with the Colts having the first pick. Indy also finished 2-14, but because the Colts played a weaker schedule than St. Louis, they get the No. 1 pick on the tie-breaker.

Meanwhile, San Francisco marches into the offseason with a 13-3 record and a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

Things started out promisingly enough, with quarterback Kellen Clemens doing his Cam Newton impression on an 18-yard scramble for a touchdown. Clemens was starting his third consecutive game with both Sam Bradford (ankle) and A.J. Feeley (thumb) sidelined again with injuries.
On third-and-7, Clemens scrambled to his right and dove past 49ers safety Donte Whitner for the final couple of yards into the end zone. The 62-yard drive followed a rare miss by San Francisco's field goal machine, kicker David Akers.

It marked only the second time all season the Rams had scored a TD on their opening drive of a game. The only other time it happened? Steven Jackson on the Rams' first offensive play of the season _ a 47-yard TD run against Philadelphia.

But it was all 49ers in the first half after what was the third rushing TD of Clemens' six-year NFL career. The 49ers picked up lots of field position on special teams, due mainly to the work of their Pro Bowl punter, Andy Lee. On the possession following the Clemens TD, a 66-yard punt by Lee bounced out of bounds at the St. Louis 8. The Rams went three-and-out, and when a 38-yard punt by the Rams' Donnie Jones was returned 10 yards by Reggie Smith, the 49ers took over on the St. Louis 33 late in the third quarter.

Five plays later, on third-and-goal from the Rams 8, San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith matched his Rams counterpart by scrambling to his right for a game-tying touchdown with 37 seconds left in the opening quarter. Defensive end Chris Long missed a potential sack at the start of the play.

On the Rams' next possession, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels reached into his bag of tricks, but this one backfired like an exploding cigar. On third-and-3 from the St. Louis 39, running back Jerious Norwood took a direct snap and started to his right before stopping to lob a pass back across the grain for quarterback Clemens.

But the ball seemed to float forever, and 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown swooped in for an interception and return to the St. Louis 34. Alex Smith then tried two quick throws, or "smokes," to wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The first, to Smith's left, was relatively well defended and went for six yards. On the second, to Smith's right, cornerback Josh Gordy missed a tackle near the line of scrimmage and Crabtree raced down the sideline for a 28-yard TD and a 14-7 San Francisco lead.

The 49ers, who outgained the Rams 113 yards to 34 in the second quarter, tacked on a couple of Akers field goals for a 20-7 halftime lead.

The Rams added a Josh Brown field goal in the third quarter to cut the San Francisco lead to 20-10. But 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh went one better later in the quarter on a fake field goal. Akers took the snap and threw to a wide open Crabtree for a 14-yard TD and 27-10 lead with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.

Crabtree faked as if leaving the field, but never did; he lined up just inside the out-of-bounds line on the sideline with no Rams player following him over. It was just the latest meltdown by special teams coordinator Tom McMahon's unit over the second half of the season.

The Rams added a second Brown field goal early in the fourth quarter, but the 49ers kept answering the field goals with touchdowns. Anthony Dixon scored from one yard out with 6:30 to play to stretch the San Francisco lead to 34-13.

Rams offense is historically impotent

2011-12-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

BY JIM THOMAS

It's not an illusion, the Rams' offense is as bad as it looks. In fact, with just two games remaining in the 2011 season, the Rams' lack of production has reached historic proportions.

With a league-low 166 points scored, the Rams are on pace to score less than 200 points for only the second time since World II. If the Rams stay on their average of 11.9 points per game, they will complete the 2011 season with 190 points scored.

And given the caliber of the defensive competition in their final two games, the Rams might be lucky to score at all.

Entering their Monday night game at Candlestick Park, Pittsburgh was ranked No. 1 in the league in total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense. The Steelers' foe, San Francisco, was No. 4 in total defense and No. 1 in scoring defense.

The Rams travel to Pittsburgh for a Christmas Eve game at Heinz Field. Then on Jan. 1, they ring in the New Year by playing host to San Francisco in the season finale at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Steelers are in a knock-down, drag-out fight with Baltimore for the AFC North title. The 49ers, who beat the Rams 26-0 on Dec. 4, still could be in the running for a first-round playoffs bye when they face the Rams. So neither team might be resting any regulars when they play St. Louis.

Before coach Steve Spagnuolo's arrival in 2009, you had to go back 65 years and two cities in franchise history to find a Rams team that scored fewer than 200 points. From 1937 through 1944, the Cleveland Rams never scored more than 196 points in any of the franchise's first seven seasons. (The Rams didn't field a team in 1943.)

But in those days, the Rams played only 10 or 11 games a season, not 16. Even the 1982 Rams during that strike-shortened nine-game season managed to score exactly 200 points.

So from the '44 Rams, who scored 188 points in a 4-6 campaign, one must go all the way forward in time to the '09 club —which scored 175 points — to find another Rams team that scored fewer than 200 in a season.

In '09, Spagnuolo stepped into the considerable mess left by predecessor Scott Linehan, one replete with bad draft picks and failed free agents.

The 2010 offense under rookie quarterback Sam Bradford was much improved, scoring 114 more points than the '09 squad, marking the second-best improvement in points scored in the NFL by a team from '09 to 2010.

But despite the signing of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the drafting of two wide receivers and a tight end in Rounds 2-4, the trade for Brandon Lloyd and the signing of offensive lineman Harvey Dahl in free agency, the Rams have regressed noticeably in this injury-plagued 2011 season.

As Dahl said after the Rams' 20-13 loss Sunday to Cincinnati, "We just can't get it all connected on offense."

Not even close.

The Rams rank last in the league in third-down conversion rate (26.9 percent) and are 30th in red-zone offense, scoring touchdowns on just 35.7 percent of their possessions inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

"It's hard to move the ball when you're not converting on third down," Spagnuolo said following the loss to Cincinnati. "We haven't been able to generate those explosive plays, and that's kind of been the story a lot.

"For whatever reason (defenses) are taking away certain weapons that they defend a certain way. We've got to try to manufacture some points working our way down the field. It's hard to be perfect for however number of plays, but one thing we've got to do is convert on third down."

With a tattered offensive and no true fullback on the roster, the Rams had trouble gaining inches — much less yards — on third down against the Bengals.

In going 0-for-eight on third-down conversions through three quarters, the Rams never faced any situation longer than third-and-7.

They had a third-and-1, third-and-2, third-and-3, and third-and-four plays — all very manageable down-and-distance situations. But they had minus-10 yards to show for those eight third-down plays:

• Steven Jackson was stopped for 1- and 2-yard losses on runs.

• Kellen Clemens was sacked twice.

• Clemens threw incomplete once and scrambled once for one yard (on third-and-2).

• The only other plays to gain positive yardage besides Clemens' scramble were a 1-yard completion to Lloyd on third-and-4 and a 5-yard completion to Danario Alexander on third-and-6.

A facemask penalty against the Bengals' defense did give the Rams a first down on third-and-1 in the second quarter, but because it came on a penalty it wasn't counted in the conversion stats. On the actual play, Lloyd lined up in the backfield took a pitch from Clemens, and was nailed for a 3-yard loss.

So the red zone remains the dead zone for the Rams, and the act of actually crossing the goal line remains a rarity.

The Rams have scored only 15 TDs this season, and if that number doesn't change against Pittsburgh and San Francisco, it will be the second-lowest total in franchise history — trailing only the 10 TDs scored by the Cleveland Rams in 1937.

And if the Rams don't score at least 34 points over their final two games, they will become just the 15th team in the NFL since the advent of the 16-game schedule in 1978 to score fewer than 200 points.

Those hardly are "milestones" a team wants to reach.

Kroenke plotting changes for Rams

2011-12-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

by Bryan Burwell

SAN FRANCISCO • By now the details are no longer very important. Let's just say that Sunday in Candlestick Park for the Rams was just like any other NFL Sunday — another bad loss in another lost season that makes every game day feel like a regurgitated Groundhog's Day nightmare for this really bad football team.

By the end of this 26-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the 2-10 Rams were doing what they always do, marching glumly off the field while another team celebrated. The Niners were prancing around Candlestick doing all sorts of silly dances and waving and blowing kisses to their giddy fans after clinching the NFC West title. And while the Niners partied, the Rams were forced to ponder their increasingly sorry state, which appears to be getting more hopeless as the weeks go by.

This may have been the worst loss of all, because the Rams had absolutely no chance of ever winning this game. Seriously. No chance at all. Not when your injury-plagued, patchwork offense is physically incapable of scoring. I'm not trying to be flippant, either. The Rams' offense is now averaging less than a touchdown per game, which should not be possible in professional football. But on Sunday, the Rams' offense had one offensive possession (out of 12) all game that was over five plays and never came within 37 yards of the end zone all day long.
Oops, I said I wouldn't bore you with details.

At this point in this franchise's unsteady history, the only thing that any of you really want to know is when and how this bad football will ever end. There's only one man who can provide those answers and his name is Stan Kroenke, the majority owner, who is not exactly reclusive but does not particularly regard public attention as essential as air or water.

While it's popular to characterize Kroenke as some indifferent absentee owner, nothing could be further from the truth. As I've told you before, he's almost always around on game days but usually slips out some back door in the locker room before reporters can get close. But Sunday, Kroenke decided not to make a hasty exit. Instead, he lingered in the cramped visitors' locker room, slowly navigating his way over and around half-filled equipment bags, discarded balls of tape, helmets and shoulder pads. The man who hasn't said very much publicly about the state of his woeful football team quietly moved from locker stall to locker stall, shaking hands and whispering in the ears of his dispirited employees.

With some players, it was nothing more than a firm handshake and a quick word. With others, Kroenke lingered a bit longer, placing a hand on a shoulder, maybe holding on to a forearm, too. But each time, he looked them all square in their eyes and spoke to nearly every player in the room.

"I just wanted them to know that I appreciated their efforts," Kroenke would say a few minutes later as he stood in a narrow hallway just outside the locker room. "I know they don't count that in the NFL, but I wanted to make sure the players knew I do appreciate their effort."
And that was pretty much it. He chatted politely for a few more minutes before making a retreat into the parking lot where a car was waiting to whisk him off to a waiting jet at the nearby airport.

Is he mad or frustrated? Is he about to lose his mind and fire everyone in sight, and quite a few who aren't? Is he plotting the complete overthrow of the front office and coaching staff or does he have a more surgical renovation in mind?

I'd like to tell you that Kroenke unburdened his mind like he was on a therapist's couch. But that's not Kroenke's style.

"As you know we don't discuss or make these kinds of decisions during the season," is all he was willing to say at this point.

But understand this. The man is not taking all this losing lightly. You could see it in his expressions as he moved around the locker room. People who know him well say he is extremely frustrated by what has transpired in his second season as majority owner and at the proper time — which is not in the middle of the season — he will decide what needs to be done. They say he is paying very close attention but feels no overwhelming need to prove that he is some boisterous ownership tough guy who needs to stand in front of microphones and TV cameras calling subordinates on the carpet.

Just because he's not going all George Steinbrenner on us doesn't mean he's playing the role of indifferent absentee owner.

In his typical "Silent Stanley" style, he prefers the low-key approach. The people who know him best say he has been gathering every snippet of information for the past two seasons — probably longer than that, really, since he's been around this franchise since 1995 — and when the season is over, he will be able to intelligently evaluate who, what, when, where and how things didn't work.

Of equal importance, his fact finding must also sort out who and what is working.

I've told you this before and I will continue to maintain this: Kroenke will not automatically utilize the scorched earth approach when all is said and done. People who he believes are part of the solution could survive regardless of popular opinion, and those who he believes are part of the problem will be gone.

There will be evaluations about the current operating structure of the football organization. There will be appraisals about how decisions are made, who makes them, when they make them, and if they should be making them.

There will be accountability in every aspect of the operation of this organization, and in the end, changes will be made.

But do not be surprised or disappointed if he does not follow the whims of popular opinion.
Quite frankly, draw comfort from that.

Spags Deserves All the Blame

2011-11-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

by Bryan Burwell

There have been plenty of times during the course of his struggling run as the Rams' coach that when the smoke cleared on another Sunday afternoon debacle you could always find some thin wisp of promise in Steve Spagnuolo's reclamation project. Sometimes — heck, most of the time — it took a lot of squinting to see the good amidst the disaster of a 10-33 record.

But there always has been something this man's focused, relentlessly optimistic, tunnel-vision public approach and his unwavering "My way or the highway" control-freak personality behind the scenes that convinced me Spagnuolo eventually would find a way to fix this mess of a franchise and turn the Rams into championship contenders.

That faith was shaken hard Sunday. The results we've been waiting to see — the big turnaround after last year's surprising leap from a 1-15 disaster in 2009 to a 7-9 season that had everyone believing the Rams were on the verge of winning the NFC West title — just have not happened. The Rams are getting worse, not better. With a 23-20 loss to Arizona on Sunday, the Rams are now 2-9 and guaranteed of an eighth consecutive non-winning season.

In the midst of all this losing, here's what continues to be so fascinating about Spagnuolo. He does not show any of the normal signs of an embattled head coach. Watch him during and after games. He does not show any of the disturbing body language of a coach on the hot seat. There are no slumped shoulders, no hang-dog expressions, no back-against-the-wall emotional flailing. Spagnuolo did not sound like a coach on the endangered list full of regret and half-baked alibis.

Even while the rest of us are screaming at the results of some of his coaching decisions, Spagnuolo conducts himself with the confident air of a man who firmly believes he still is in complete control of his environment.

"I think our team is passionate," he said. "I mean the work I see when they go out, I don't think there's a lack of effort. We know we're a little short-handed in some spots. ... But my pride and competitiveness says that no matter what, we've got to find a way to win."

But the cold-blooded business of coaching does not reward coaches for their outstanding personality traits or hand out A's for effort. The halls of Canton are full of jerks, reprobates and brow-beating maniacs who have stalked NFL sidelines. This is a bottom-line business and winning is all that matters. What does it mean that his players don't quit? What does it mean that they fight to the bitter end every Sunday? What does it mean that his team is full of real professionals who refuse to use injuries as excuses?

It doesn't buy him much more than the opportunity to let the season play out, giving him the full 16 games to determine his fate.

But on Sunday, Spagnuolo committed the sort of glaring coaching errors that under the best of circumstances get owners looking at you sideways, and in the worst of circumstances — such as a loss that sends your team falling deeper into the abyss of another lost season — gets a giant target plastered on your chest.

Add this to the growing list of games we've seen far too many times this season. This was a game against a bad foe that didn't deserve to win. But it was yet another game the Rams gave away, and they gave it away because of failed decisions by the coach.

In the third quarter, trailing 13-10, they had a fourth-and-1 play on their own 30-yard line and the entire crowd rumbling in anticipation that Spagnuolo would go for the first down. It was one of those moments in which a struggling team already eliminated from playoff contention — with six games left — had nothing to lose. When Spagnuolo asked for a measurement, it showed the Rams were only half the length of a football away from a first down.

But Spagnuolo ordered a punt.

"It was just way too early in the third quarter," Spagnuolo said. "We're on our own 30. I just felt it was too risky in my opinion."

What exactly would 'Spags' have risked by going for it? The expiration date on the season already is long gone. The only thing the Rams are jockeying for is favorable position in the first round of next spring's NFL draft. So where was the risk? Even if they failed to get the first down, you don't second guess the decision to go for it because it was the bold thing to do and the right thing to do.

What happened next was an "out of the frying pan and into the fire" moment for Spagnuolo. He ordered the punt, but instead of Donnie Jones using the directional punt to the sidelines, he hit one right down the middle of the field to Cardinals return man Patrick Peterson, the rookie from LSU who already had three touchdowns of 80 yards or more on punt returns (including the game-winning 99-yarder the last time these teams met).

"The intent was not to go down the middle," said Spagnuolo.

The intent did not match the result. All together now: Arrrrrrrrrrgggggggh! One juke here, one wiggle there and whooooosh. .... Peterson hit top speed and dashed 80 yards untouched for a touchdown that gave the Cards a 20-10 lead.

This might have been the most disastrous sequence of coaching decisions I've seen Spagnuolo make in his three seasons as the Rams' coach. But we only had to wait about 20 more minutes before he made another decision that would produce another agonizing collective groan.

With 3 minutes, 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Rams now trailing by three points, Spagnuolo was faced with another fourth-and-1 situation. The ball was on the St. Louis 36 and this time he didn't hesitate. He called for another punt, and that was the ballgame.

"I thought it was (fourth and 2)," Spagnuolo said. "I thought it was 2 yards (not 1). We had three timeouts (and) I thought if we could hold them, didn't let them get the first down, we're going to get the ball right back."

He must have been the only one who thought that because his defense had been shredded by the Cardinals on the ground all game long, giving up a staggering 268 yards rushing, including 228 by Beanie Wells. The Cardinals were averaging more than 7 yards a carry, and there was absolutely a zero shot that the Rams would get the ball back again.

And the Rams never got the ball back. They used all three timeouts and the Cardinals ran out the clock.

There's another clock that is still ticking, and it's the one that measures the time remaining on Spagnuolo's head-coaching life. I still think there's a chance to keep it running, but it's dwindling. Can he control that clock and make this thing work?

We have five weeks to see if he can.

Top priority — protect Bradford

2011-11-22T10:22:00.001-08:00

by Bernie M

The Rams' primary objective for the rest of the season should be perfectly clear: adjust the offense and do everything possible to protect and preserve QB Sam Bradford. He's been sacked 37 times this season, more than any NFL QB. (And that's with missing two games because of an ankle injury.) Bradford is near the top of the board for most hits and most hurries. One injury has already taken him out of the lineup. What's the point of allowing Bradford to absorb a needless beating? What is being gained by having Bradford withstand so much physical punishment?

Having Bradford rocked and slammed to the ground would be OK if the Rams actually had something to show for his bruises. Kurt Warner took more hits than any QB during the "Greatest Show" glory days, but the trade-off resulted in one of the greatest performances in NFL history. The Rams threw 116 TD passes and and averaged 32.6 points per game over a three-season period (1999-2001.) All of those hits eventually impacted Warner's health and career, but Kurt and the Rams were willing to pay that price. Bradford is a tough QB; he doesn't complain about getting smacked around.

Bradford -- like Warner and any competitive quarterback -- is willing to stand in, suffer the pain of a nasty hit and make the throw. They will sacrifice if it means making a play. But Sam and the Rams are getting nothing in return for this steady QB abuse. They're last in the NFL in points per game (12), they're last in touchdowns from scrimmage (10), they have the league's worst third-down conversion rate (29.9 pct.) they rank 30th of 32 teams in yards per passing attempt (5.81), they are 27th in average yards at the point of the catch (5.5) and are tied with Jacksonville for the fewest number of TD passes (6).

The Rams aren't making big plays, they aren't scoring, they aren't winning. So again, please tell me: what is possibly being achieved by exposing Bradford and increasing the likelihood of injury or advanced erosion in his play? We've already watched Bradford descend into regression, and in my opinion there's no question that a lot of this is related to the cumulative effects of the punishment he's taking in this offense.

Last season, in the more conservative and cautious West Coast offense coordinated by Pat Shurmur, the Rams did a very good job of protecting Bradford. He played every snap of the 16-game season. He was sacked only 34 times. Only 11 NFL teams had a better rate of sacks per play (5.4 pct.) than the Rams. Shurmur's approach gave Bradford a lot of quick, three-step dropbacks and short throws. The system kept Bradford secure, enhanced his confidence and gave him a chance to take root in the NFL.

Oh, and by the way: the offense that caused so many fans to go wacko in ripping Shurmur also averaged 18.1 points per game. It was more productive than the sputtering Josh McDaniels offense we're seeing now. Shurmur-ball was hardly an air show, and it tended to be bland. But the small-ball Shurmur offense manufactured a lot of long drives, kept the chains moving, and kept the Rams defense fresh. The small-ball offense greatly reduced the number of hits on the QB and gave Bradford a chance to make plays. Last November 11, I wrote a column about the benefits of the Shurmur offense and was ridiculed for it, but I doubt that anyone of sound mind would dispute my premise these days.

The Josh McDaniels offense may not be as boring in terms of philosophy, but it isn't working. Bradford isn't being protected. Bradford isn't getting better. And the Rams aren't rolling up points. The McDaniels offense is averaging six points less a game than the Shurmur offense. With the Shurmur style the Rams ranked 14th in time of possession last season; this season they rank 26th.

No, the Rams can't reinstall the West Coast Offense.

But they can modify what they have. With the injuries wrecking the team's supply of offensive tackles, it's imperative to take extra measures to limit the damage on Bradford. No more of this empty-backfield nonsense. If a young and inexperienced kid (Kevin Hughes) has to play left offensive tackle, you'd better line up a tight end next to him to help keep the wolves away from Bradford's throat. The Rams have to grind it out on the ground as much as possible with Steven Jackson. McDaniels has to simplify the offense and scale it down -- the way the Rams did for backup A.J. Feeley -- and give Bradford more three-step drops and quick throws.

If it's boring, who cares?

At least this will increase the chances of keeping Bradford safe. It will cut down on the possibility of Bradford becoming the next victim of The Battered Quarterback Syndrome (Marc Bulger, David Carr, etc.)

Besides, what we've seen through the first 10 games -- an average of 12 points and only 10 TDs from scrimmage -- is hardly exciting. It's statistically the worst offense in the National Football League. (Talk about boring.)

And it's getting the quarterback killed, for no good reason.

"I'm worried about Sam," Steven Jackson told 101 ESPN on Monday.

If McDaniels won't alter the offense, it's up to head coach Steve Spagnuolo to intervene. That's what good leaders do.

Good fortune shines on Rams in rare win

2011-11-14T07:16:00.000-08:00

It was strange and ugly, befitting the status of two teams with a combined record for 4-12 entering the game. But the Rams were beneficiaries of rare good fortune, with a potential game-winning field goal by Cleveland going awry on a fouled up long snap with 2 minutes 13 to play.

The Rams were able to run out the clock and survive for a 13-12 victory over Cleveland. The Rams improved to 2-7 overall with Cleveland falling to 3-6.

The Rams got their first touchdown since the New Orleans game two weeks ago _ and scored in the red zone, no less _ but they missed out on a couple of other opportunities and led by only 10-9 at the half.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo opted against a 52-yard field goal attempt on the Rams' first possession, even though it looked like Josh Brown would've made the kick with the wind at his back. When punter Donnie Jones' subsequent punt rolled into the end zone, the Rams had gained only 14 yards of field position on the change of possession with the Browns taking over on their 20.

With 10 of 11 plays gaining eight yards or less, the Browns got on the scoreboard first, on Phil Dawson's 44-yard field goal with 4:56 to go in the first quarter. This 3-0 lead was practically cause for parade in Cleveland, because the Browns had been outscored 58-6 in their first eight games.

The lead didn't last long. The Rams carved out a long drive of their own, and this one ended up in the end zone on a 7-yard pass from San Bradford to Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd beat Cleveland's best cornerback, Joe Haden, on the play by faking an inside post route and then breaking outside and into the clear.

But the Rams managed only one more score in the first half, and that came on a 29-yard Brown field goal after a drive stalled in _ surprise _ the red zone with 1:07 left in the half.

Earlier in the second quarter, St. Louis also committed a turnover near midfield when a Bradford pass was tipped and intercepted by Browns linebacker Scott Fujita.

Meanwhile, Dawson kept kicking field goals for the Browns. Field goal No. 2 came midway through the second quarter after a trick play. Wide receiver Joshua Cribbs lined up at quarterback in the wildcat formation, and then tossed a handoff to quarterback Colt McCoy, who then threw a 21-yard pass to backup quarterback Seneca Wallace.

After the halftime break, Dawson tacked on two more field goals to give Cleveland a 12-10 lead The Rams were moving the ball well after taking the second-half kickoff, but then came a rare fumble by Steven Jackson, fighting to reach the first-down marking after taking a short pass from Bradford.

Browns linebacker Chris Gocong forced and recovered the fumble, Jackson's first lost fumble of the season and just the 15th in more than 2,300 career touches. The Browns didn't score off that turnover, but it helped them out field position-wise, and Dawson's fourth field goal of the day gave Cleveland a 12-10 lead with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

With injured players dropping left and right for the Rams, Jackson remained a constant. Jackson topped 100 yards rushing for the third game in a row early in the fourth quarter. But even thought Cleveland entered the game ranked 30th in run defense, most of the yards didn't come easy for Jackson.

A special teams takeaway helped the Rams regain the lead. Linebacker David Nixon, signed four days ago by the Rams to help on special teams because of injuries to Josh Hull and Bryan Kehl, did just that. He stripped punt returner Cribbs of the football, with linebacker Ben Leber recovering the fumble at the Cleveland 5.

Two runs by Jackson gained 11 yards and put the Rams in field goal range. But a third-and-3 pass attempt at the Cleveland 9 resulted in a sack of Bradford. So the Rams settled for a Brown field goal and a tenuous 13-12 lead with 7:42 to play.

Just how tenuous that lead was became apparent on the next play, when Brown's kickoff rolled out of bounds inside the 5-yard line. That's a penalty, with the ball spotted automatically on the Cleveland 40. Three plays later, the Browns had a first down at the Rams' 19, and time dwindling.

On fourth down from the 4, facing little more than an extra point, the Browns lined up for a potential game-winning field goal. Dawson is one of the game's most reliable kickers. But in one of the strangest field goal attempts you'll ever see, long snapper Brian Pontbriand's snap accidentally caroomed off guard Alex Mack's leg. The snap skipped back to holder Brad Maynard, but Dawson's timing was thrown off.

The kick was low and to the left and the Rams hung on for the victory.

Rams lose on 99-yard punt return in OT

2011-11-07T07:59:00.001-08:00

BY JIM THOMAS 

GLENDALE, ARIZ. -- So much for what happened last week against New 
Orleans. So much for any November momentum.

It all vanished into the desert evening at University of Phoenix Stadium 
with Arizona's Patrick Peterson twisting and turning 99 yards through 
the Rams punt coverage team for his third punt return touchdown of the 
season to defeat the Rams 19-13 in overtime.

The Rams couldn't hold a 13-6 led late in the fourth quarter and thus 
drop to 1-7 on the season. Coach Steve Spagnuolo is now 9-31 in his 
third season as Rams head coach, and the clock is ticking.

A sack by defensive end Chris Long that led to a loss of 16 yards forced 
Arizona to punt with just under a minute to play. Then, Austin Pettis -- 
who had trouble even signaling for a fair catch when he started 
returning punts earlier this season, gave the Rams decent field position 
at their 36 with a 19-yard return. Pettis then caught a 23-yard pass to 
advance the ball into Arizona territory at the 41.

After a short pass to Pettis, a pass interference call against Arizona, 
and an 8-yard run by Steven Jackson, Josh Brown lined up for a 42-yard 
field goal with 4 seconds to play. But 6-foot-8 Arizona defensive end 
Calais Campbell steamed through to block the kick and force overtime at 
13-13.

The Rams had taken a 13-6 lead on a pair of third-quarter safeties. The 
safeties came on back-to-back defensive plays following Donnie Jones 
punts. On the first, defensive end James Hall split a double team by 
left tackle Levi Brown and left guard Daryn Colledge to sack John 
Skelton, who started in place of the injured Kevin Kolb at quarterback.

That safety gave St. Louis an 11-6 lead with 7:24 to play. The Rams 
could do nothing after the Arizona free kick, with Jones punting out of 
bounds at the Arizona 9. On the Cardinals' first play from scrimmage 
following the Jones punt, C.J. Ah You ran down Skelton and was in the 
process of bringing him down to the ground when Skelton frantically 
tried to throw the ball away.

The play was ruled intentional grounding, and since it took place in the 
end zone, it was another safety. Two safeties, less than 4 minutes 
apart. It was the first time since Minnesota in 2008 that a team had two 
safeties in one game.

But the 13-6 lead disappeared in one fell swoop when Skelton found Larry 
Fitzgerald in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard TD to tie the game 
13-13 with 4:51 to play. Fitzgerald lined up in the slot on the play and 
no Rams cornerback picked him up. He ended up having only a linebacker 
and a safety to beat for the score.

The first half was all about field goals, with Brown kicking three to 
give the Rams a 9-3 halftime lead. Wearing a brace for his high ankle 
sprain that went halfway up his left calf, Bradford moved around well 
enough, surviving three first-half sacks and even scrambling once for a 
couple of yards. Midway through the opening quarter, he nimbly 
sidestepped the Arizona pass rush, stepped up in the pocket and zipped a 
22-yard completion over the middle to Brandon Gibson.

The Rams dominated time of possession (20:02 to 9:58) and piled up the 
yards (189 to 58), but in an all-too-familiar story couldn't get over 
the hump when they got in scoring territory. They settled for the first 
Brown field goal, from 48 yards, after rookie outside linebacker Sam 
Acho got a sack in his third consecutive game by dropping Bradford for a 
three-yard loss on third-and-4 from the Arizona 27.

Midway through the second, the Rams faced a third-and-1 from the Big Red 
17, when Arizona safety Adrian Wilson shot through a gap on a run blitz 
and dropped Jackson for a two-yard loss. The result was a 37-yard Brown 
field goal and a 6-3 lead.

Brown made it 9-3 with a 41-yarder as time expired in the first half. On 
third-and-2 from the Arizona 20, pressure up the middle from Arizona 
cornerback Richard Marshall resulted in another sack.

Arizona couldn't get much going. A 22-yard punt return by Patrick 
Peterson became a 37-yard play when Brit Miller was flagged 15 yards for 
a late hit on Peterson. The Cardinals gained two first downs but had to 
settled for a 27-yard Jay Feely field goal on what was their first 
possession of the game.

The Cardinals crossed midfield only once the rest of the half, and 
reached only the St. Louis 48 at that. But Arizona put together its best 
drive to open the second half marching 58 yards before Feely's 38-yard 
field goal narrowed the Rams' lead to 9-6 with 10:30 left in the third 
quarter.

Standout defensive effort lifts Rams to upset of Saints

2011-10-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

By Alvin Reid

The Sports Xchange

ST. LOUIS—Maybe the good karma from the World Series transferred over to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday afternoon.

The winless Rams shut out the powerful New Orleans offense until midway through the fourth quarter and rode the stellar defensive effort to a 31-21 victory over the Saints.

The Rams returned one of their two interceptions for a touchdown, blocked a punt and continually harassed quarterback Drew Brees (notes) while smothering the Saints offense.

Safety Darian Stewart (notes) returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown with 2:51 remaining to seal the Rams' first win of the season.

"I just read the play and broke on it. We had to come up with a big play, and I came up big," Stewart said.

First-round draft pick Robert Quinn (notes) had his best game as a Ram with a blocked punt and a crucial first-half sack to stall a Saints drive.Chris Long (notes) also stood tall with three sacks on a flustered Brees.

Quinn blocked a Thomas Morstead (notes) punt with 1:41 left in the first half to set up the Rams at the New Orleans 15-yard line. Quarterback A.J. Feeley (notes) connected with Greg Salas (notes) for a 12-yard gain to the 3-yard line. Salas fumbled, but an alert Steven Jackson fell on the ball. Jackson scored from 3 yards out on the next play to give the Rams a 10-0 lead.

Jackson finished with 159 yards on 25 carries and added four receptions for 32 yards. He also inspired the team with an emotional pregame speech.

"I told the team that if you have ever been in a fight, if you have ever been punched, you can either run or find the will to keep fighting," Jackson said. "I challenged them as football players. I challenged them as men to find something inside them they didn't know they had. I think you saw that in the fourth quarter."

Brees was intercepted by Josh Gordy (notes) on the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff. Feeley capped a seven-play, 38-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown toss to Brandon Lloyd (notes) to make it 17-0 at halftime.

Feeley said Lloyd "called his own play" and told the quarterback, "I'm running this." Feeley had 20 completions on 37 attempts for 175 yards and was not intercepted. Lloyd caught six passes for 53 yards and the TD.

The Rams took a 3-0 lead with 8:32 left in the second quarter on a Josh Brown (notes) 38-yard field goal.

After holding the Saints and forcing on punt on New Orleans' first drive of the second half, the Rams immediately went back to work on offense. An 11-play, 73-yard drive ended with Jackson's second touchdown of the day on a 3-yard run. The key play of the drive was Jackson's 32-yard run on fourth-and-2 from the Saints' 35-yard line.

Down 24-0, the Saints scored their first points with 1:21 left in the third quarter when Feeley was sacked and fumbled on his own goal line. The ball was recovered by linebacker Jonathan Vilma (notes) for a touchdown.

A three-yard Pierre Thoma s(notes) touchdown run cut the Rams lead to 24-14 with 10 minutes left in the game.

Stewart's interception return pushed the Rams' lead back to 31-14. Brees hit Lance Moore (notes) for an 8-yard touchdown with six seconds left in the game to cut into the final margin.

NOTES: Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals tossed the coin before the game, and the Rams won the toss. The baseball team was on hand and was recognized during the first quarter. … Jackson's two touchdowns moved him to fourth on the Rams' all-time TD list. … The Rams were clad in their 1999 Super Bowl champion throwback jerseys. … Saints first-round draft pick Mark Ingram (notes) was on the inactive list with an injured heel suffered in the 62-7 blowout of Indianapolis last week. … The Saints activated running back Chris Ivory off the physically unable to perform list and released tight end Tory Humphrey.

Murray, Cowboys trample Rams 34-7

2011-10-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- A former University of Oklahoma star flashed his considerable talents Sunday at Cowboys Stadium, and it wasn't Sam Bradford.

Bradford, the former Sooners Heisman Trophy winner, could only look on in admiration -- or was it disgust? -- as former OU teammate DeMarco Murray left his cleat marks all over the St. Louis defense.

Murray got his day started with a 91-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and didn't stop until he had gone well over 200 yards rushing. His 252 yards rushing was a Cowboys single-game record and also a record for a Rams opponent.

On this day, the Cowboys didn't really need Tony Romo except to hand off. But Romo got into the act as well, throwing a couple of TD passes as the Dallas crushed the hapless Rams 34-7. The Cowboys improved to 3-3; the Rams fell to 0-6.

Veteran A.J. Feeley made his first start since 2007, in place of Bradford who did not suit up because of a high ankle sprain. The Rams couldn't sustain much of anything on offense, even with the addition of Brandon Lloyd to the receiving corps via last Monday's trade with Denver.

As for the St. Louis run defense, it made Murray look like the next Emmitt Smith or Tony Dorsett with a mirage of missed tackles and missed gaps.

For the second week in a row, the Rams had their opponent backed up near the shadow of its goal line. And for the second week in a row, they gave up a touchdown of 90 yards-plus. Last week in Green Bay, it was Jordy Nelson racing 93 yards with an Aaron Rodgers pass.

Sunday against Dallas, it was Murray racing 91 yards on a run up the middle for the game's first touchdown. It was the longest run against the Rams in franchise history and came on a delayed handoff that had the St. Louis defense thinking pass. Defensive tackle Fred Robbins looped to the outside on the play and linebacker Brady Poppinga was blocked at the point of attack, leaving a gaping hole.

Late in first quarter, Cadillac Williams fumbled away a screen pass with the Cowboys taking over at their 38. Despite a sack by James Hall, the Cowboys gobbled up yardage in big chunks in the passing game after the takeaway, with Tony Romo completions of 18 yards to Jason Witten, 34 yards to Dez Bryant, and 17 yards to ex-Ram Laurent Robinson giving them a first-and-goal at the St. Louis 4.

On third-and-goal from the 1, Romo threw to a wide-open Jason Witten for a TD and a 14-0 lead. In what looked like a busted coverage by the Rams, safety Quintin Mikell was left trying to cover two Cowboys in the end zone. Once he left Witten, that's where Romo threw it.

But the Rams' offense showed some rare life following the ensuing kickoff, taking over on its 15. The big play came on third-and-3 from the Dallas 46, with Steven Jackson roaring up the middle for a 40-yard gain to the Dallas 6. Operating against the NFL's top-ranked rush defense, Jackson had only 14 yards on 10 carries until that run. On the next play from scrimmage, Jackson scored on a 6-yard run, running untouched to his right into the end zone.

The Rams got the ball back with a chance to tie before halftime, but a third-down throw by Feeley intended for Brandon Lloyd was intercepted by Dallas corner Mike Jenkins, giving the Cowboys possession on the St. Louis 30 with 3:34 to play in the first half. But Dallas, second-worst in the league in red zone offense ahead of only the Rams, had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Dan Bailey and a 17-7 halftime lead.

Rams overmatched against Packers

2011-10-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

The Rams matched Green Bay yard-for-yard, first down-for-first down. Unfortunately for them, they didn't come close to matching Green Bay point for point, falling to 0-5 on the season Sunday.

With the Rams squandering scoring chance after scoring chance, Green Bay jumped to a 24-0 first-half lead and cruised to a 24-3 victory Sunday, staying unbeaten for the season at 6-0.

The Rams missed a field goal on their first possession of the game, and settled for a field goal on their last possession of the half after reaching the red zone. In the second half, each of the Rams' first five offensive possessions reached Green Bay territory, including advances to the Packers' 10_ and 15-yard lines. But how many points did the Rams get out of all that? Zero.

The best chance came late in the first quarter. On a first and goal from the 10, quarterback Sam Bradford badly underthrew a fade pattern in the end zone intended for Danario Alexander, with Sam Shields intercepting the pass. Later in the second half, a potential scoring drive was scuttled by a 16-yard loss when a backwards pass eluded Cadillac Willams. And midway threw the fourth quarter, a fourth-and-6 pass to tight end Lance Kendricks right at the first-down marker was dropped.

It was that kind of game and it's been that kind of season for the Rams. Missed opportunities and sloppy play have been consistent themes.

It's not as if the Packers had receivers running free all day against the Rams _ just enough to take a 24-3 halftime lead thanks to three Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes plus a Mason Crosby field goal. The Packers led by only 3-0 early in the second quarter, when Rodgers got his throwing arm warmed up on a chilly, windy day at Lambeau Field.

After a fourth-and-3 gamble by the Rams failed at the Green Bay 41 late in the first quarter, the Packers had the short field to work with. A fourth-and-1 gamble by the Packers at midfield resulted in a 15-yard gain by James Starks. Rams linebacker Brady Poppinga, the ex-Packer, slipped at the line of scrimmage, giving Starks an extra-large running lane.

On the next play, Rodgers completed a 35-yard TD pass to James Jones, with defender Justin King trailing by a couple yards on the play. It marked the fifth TD pass King has allowed in the last three games for St. Louis.

Green Bay scored on TD passes on their next two possessions. After Quinn Porter downed a Donnie Jones punt on the Green Bay 7, the Packers struck for seven on the next play. On the play, Al Harris bit on a play fake by Rodgers, leaving Jordy Nelson uncovered. Both Harris and safety Darian Stewart had chances to tackle Nelson at the Rams 40, but both missed, tripping over each other in the process.

The 93-yard touchdown was a career long throw for Rodgers and a career-long catch by Nelson, giving Green Bay a 17-0 lead with 9 minutes 11 seconds left in the first half. Before the half was out, Green Bay got back in the end zone on a seven-yard pass from Rodgers to Donald Driver. Driver was double-teamed by King and Craig Dahl at the goal line, and well covered at that. But King and Dahl both left Driver _ heading for the line of scrimmage thinking Rodgers might scramble. Rodgers didn't scramble _ he tossed the ball to a wide-open Driver with 1:51 to play, stretching Green Bay's lead to 24-3.

Going with a no-huddle offense almost exclusively, the Rams gained 222 yards in the first half, good output against any defense. But they had only three points to show for it. Jason Brown missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, wide right, on the Rams' first possession of the game. Brown made a 36-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the second quarter.

* * *

Mike Sims-Walker, who was signed in free agency almost immediately after the lockout to give the Rams help at wide receiver, was among the pregame inactives for St. Louis on Sunday.

Sims-Walker, who had a couple of drops against Washington prior to the bye week, was working with the "scout" team by the end of the practice week, running the routes of Green Bay receivers for the Rams' starting defense.

The Rams are expected to start Brandon Gibson and Danario Alexander at wide receiver against Green Bay.

There were other lineup/inactive developments as well. Veteran Ben Leber, who started the first four games at weakside linebacker, was inactive. The former Minnesota Viking had done little so far this season, and is expected to be replaced in the starting lineup by Chris Chamberlain.

Veteran Rod Hood also was inactive, meaning street free agent Brian Jackson _ added at the start of the practice week _ will join Justin King, Al Harris, and Josh Gordy as the four active cornerbacks against Green Bay's potent passing game. King and Harris will start, with Gordy the third corner in the Rams' nickel and dime packages.

For the second game in a row, running back Jerious Norwood is on the inactive list. As a result, RB Quinn Porter is likely to return kickoffs, with potential help from Austin Pettis. With newly-signed WR/return man Nick Miller on the pregame inactive list, Pettis, Porter and Greg Salas are all options on punt returns.

The Rams' other inactives Sunday were TE Stephen Spach and DE C.J. Ah You. The roster decisions mean that rookie wideouts Pettis and Salas are both active for the first time this season. In addition, rookie linebacker Jabara Williams makes his NFL debut for St. Louis.

Familiar Mistakes Doom Rams

2011-10-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

For a few fleeting minutes, there was a flicker of hope. After all but sleepwalking for three quarters the Rams managed a field goal and a touchdown in the fourth quarter, chipping into what had been a 17-0 Washington lead. Then linebacker James Laurinaitis picked off an underthrown Rex Grossman pass and returned it 15 yards to the Washington 19.

With 5½ minutes left to play, the Rams were in the red zone with a chance to tie the score.

"There's no doubt when we got that interception, I thought we were going to score," quarterback Sam Bradford said. "We were going to tie the game. Then I thought our defense was going to get another stop; I thought we were going to get it back and go win the game in (a) two-minute drive."

So much for the optimism of youth.

In the end, the Rams reverted to form. And in 2011, "form" on offense translates to dropped passes, missed passes, shoddy pass protection and penalties.

Lots of them.

And so it was Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

An incomplete pass on first down was followed by an illegal shift penalty, and then back-to-back sacks allowed by left tackle Rodger Saffold. Just like that, first-and-10 from the 19 became fourth-and-30 from the 39. The Rams couldn't even get a field goal out of the Laurinaitis takeaway. They were forced to punt and ultimately punted away a chance at the ever-elusive first victory of 2011.

The Rams never got close to scoring range again and fell to 0-4 for the season with a 17-10 loss. Thanks to a bye week, the Rams now have two weeks to contemplate their plight. When they return to action Oct. 16, it will be in Green Bay, home of the Super Bowl champion Packers. Next comes a trip to Dallas on Oct. 23, followed by a visit from the 2009 Super Bowl champ — New Orleans.

The season is slipping away faster than you can say "miscue."

There's no getting around it: If the losses continue to mount, the job security of coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney will be in doubt.

"Every Sunday's a sense of urgency," Spagnuolo said afterward. "If we were 4-0, and we were getting ready to play the fifth game, it would be pretty urgent because you can go the other way pretty quick. So I don't think it changes."

But something must change, because the Rams continue to make the same mistakes over and over.

A week after being sacked a career-high five times, Bradford was sacked seven times Sunday for a new career high. Those aren't the kind of "milestones" the Rams had in mind when they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2010. Without throwing anyone in particular under the bus, Bradford clearly is getting frustrated with his pass protection, or lack thereof.

"We've got to figure it out," he said. "You can say run 'three-step,' you can say run 'quick game,' get the ball out of your hand quicker. At some point you've got to be able to throw the ball down the field. And in order to do that, you've got to have time to read out the routes because they take time to develop. So hopefully during this bye week — we've got two weeks to get it figured out before we play next. But that's one area where we definitely need to be better."

He continued ...

"I'm not going to lie," Bradford said. "It is getting frustrating, just for the fact that when we put ourselves in situations early in the game where we get behind, we've got to throw the ball to get ourselves back in the game and we've got to pick up chunks of yards. In order to do that, in order to put points on the board, you've got to have time to go through the progressions and read it. I'm not saying there weren't times today where I could've gotten the ball out quicker. I'm definitely going to have to look at the film and see that, too. But we've got to be better."

Saffold, who played so well as a rookie last year but has struggled much of this season, had a particularly tough day against Washington. He was clearly agitated in the locker room afterward.

How can the Rams do a better job of protecting Bradford?

"We've just got to go back out there and take care of it," Saffold said. "Simple as that. It'll come. We've just got to go back to the drawing board and fix the mistakes. That's all it is. That's all you can do every single week. It's not going to change. My answer's not going to change."

All told, the Rams managed a meager 172 yards of offense Sunday, the ninth-lowest output for the team since the move to St. Louis in 1995. Not even the return of running back Steven Jackson to full status for the first time since his thigh injury in Week 1 helped. He gained 45 yards on 17 carries, averaging just 2.6 yards a rush, and caught four passes for 19 yards.

The Rams dropped at least six passes, including two by Mike Sims-Walker and two by Lance Kendricks.

"No excuse," Sims-Walker said. "I gotta catch the ball. That's what I'm here for. I gotta make plays, and I didn't make 'em today."

And there's more. The Rams were flagged for five false starts, four against the offense and one on special teams. False starts usually are much more common on the road because of crowd noise, but not for the Rams.

"Most of those (Sunday) came on hard counts," Bradford said. "We've just got to do a better job of hanging in there."

And not just at the line of scrimmage.

Rams pathetic in 37-7 loss to Ravens

2011-09-27T12:48:00.001-07:00

BY JIM THOMAS

Ray Rice? Sure. Anquan Boldin? Of course. But just about the last thing
the Rams expected entering Sunday's game with the Baltimore Ravens was a
lethal dose of Torrey Smith. Actually, three lethal doses in a
disturbing 37-7 loss at the Edward Jones Dome.

There's no other way to describe it. It was a pathetic showing for the
Rams, particularly in the first half. In an offseason and preseason of
heightened expectations, the Rams have fallen flat three games in a row.
Sure, the early-season schedule has been daunting, but the Rams clearly
haven't been up to the task. Not even close. Now 0-3, the Rams have been
outscored 96-36 in a league where 40 to 50 percent of the games every
year are decided by seven points or less.

Smith, by the way, was there for the taking by the Rams in the second
round last April _ a wide receiver with the kind of elite speed to get
behind opposing secondaries. (Instead, the Rams took tight end Lance
Kendricks.) On Sunday, Smith got behind the Rams' secondary, more
specifically cornerback Justin King over and over and over.

Smith caught three passes for 133 yards in the first quarter. All went
for touchdowns. And in each case, King was victimized with Smith
basically just running by him with his 4.3-second speed. Smith had
struggled in the preseason and early season, and had trouble catching
the ball, which was part of the scouting report on him coming out of the
University of Maryland. He had even argued with his followers on
Twitter, asking them to be patient, that the plays were coming.

They came in a flood Sunday. He had no trouble catching the football. In
fact, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco overthrew him on two other occasions
in the end zone in the first half. Other than defensive end Chris Long,
who got his third sack of the season and had several other hurries and
hits, the Rams couldn't get any pressure on Flacco, and didn't do much
blitzing in the first half.

When Flacco wasn't throwing deep over King, he was picking apart the St.
Louis defense with underneath stuff. Known as grounding, pounding
offense, the Ravens couldn't look a gift horse _ or make that secondary
_ in mouth. Flacco threw it a whopping 31 times in the opening half.

When the Ravens weren't beating the Rams' pass defense, they were
averaging 10.9 yards per carry on the ground in the opening half.
Running back Rice had a 53-yard gain on 3rd-and-1. On that play, the
Rams' missed two tackles. They missed a lot of tackles Sunday, and all
told yielded 406 yards in the first half. Normally, 406 yards is
considered a good offensive output for four quarters _ not two.

The St. Louis offense was just as inept. Quarterback Sam Bradford
completed only four of 15 passes for a paltry 17 yards in the first
half, throwing his first interception of the season. Bradford was sacked
twice for 14 yards in the first half, so the Rams' net passing total at
halftime against a Baltimore defense that supposedly was susceptible to
the pass was three yards. Three.

The Rams reached Baltimore territory only twice, stalling once at the
39. On the other penetration, they reached the Ravens' 14 after a
nine-yard run by Cadillac Williams, but right tackle Justin Smith was
penalized 15 yards for shoving Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis on the
play. Referee Scott Green's crew somehow missed the fact that Baltimore
defensive end Arthur Jones reacted by shoving Smith to the ground.

After the penalty, on a second-and-7 from the Ravens' 26, Bradford threw
his first interception in 89 passing attempts this season. Danario
Alexander stumbled on the play, leaving only Baltimore cornerback
Lardarius Webb to catch the fade pattern down the right sideline.

The Rams did break the shutout in the third quarter on a 34-yard pass
from Bradford to Brandon Gibson. But once again, there were too many
dropped passes, too many penalties, and yes, yet another defensive
touchdown for the opposition _ this time when 330-pound Ravens defensive
tackle Haloti Ngata rumbled 28 yards with a Bradford fumble for a fourth
quarter score.

Smith, a No. 2 overall pick by St. Louis in 2009, was benched in the
fourth quarter after yielding a sack. Other than that, the Rams were the
model of efficiency and performance.

Miscues Cost Rams Again

2011-09-20T12:06:00.001-07:00

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For one quarter of football Monday night at MetLife Stadium, the Rams controlled the action against the New York Giants.

What they had to show for a fairly dominant opening 15 minutes turned out to be the same thing they’d have to show for the full 60 minutes of a game that for the second week in a row saw the Rams make the types of mistakes that ultimately result in a loss: nothing.

Despite a fast start in which the Rams dictated the tempo with a fast break offense and a resilient and defiant defense, a pair of huge miscues shifted the lead and momentum in favor of the Giants.

When all was said and done, New York emerged with a 28-16 victory and improved to 1-1 on the season. The Rams fall to 0-2 with the loss.

“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot until we had no foot left,” left tackle said. “We have to just keep from stopping ourselves and just play the game.”

Much like last week’s season opening loss to the Eagles, the Rams again played a talented NFC East opponent. And again, the Rams found themselves in a competitive battle in which they showed right away they can play with some of the league’s better teams.

But despite any type of fast start or plays that appeared to have the Rams tracking toward a victory, an avalanche of mental errors that resulted in penalties, red zone woes and turnovers led to the only statistic that truly matters: points for the opponent.

“(It was) a little bit of the same story as last week,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “I thought there were a number of times we shot ourselves in the foot. It’s very difficult to beat these football teams, any football team in this league when you find a way to beat yourself. If you can win like that first then you can go from there.”

All indications from the way the game started had it looking the Rams were going to jump all over the Giants early. After getting a defensive stop to start the game, the Rams came out in a no-huddle offense designed to keep the Giants in the same personnel and keep them off balance.

Quarterback – who was schooled in a similar offense at Oklahoma – directed it perfectly, firing darts all over the field including a 68-yard catch, roll and run for receiver .

Alexander was tracked down at the 1-yard line and that’s where the problems began anew for the Rams. Running back was stopped for a loss of 1 and Bradford fired incomplete twice, leaving kicker to boot a 21-yard field goal for a quick 3-0 lead.

That was just the beginning of the failed red zone opportunities, though. The Rams would get inside New York’s 20 three more times and come away with a touchdown just once when Alexander climbed the ladder for a 19-yard touchdown that would account for the final margin.

In the red zone trips where the Rams settled for field goals, Bradford was 1-of-6 for 4 yards. Williams gained 10 yards on three carries and the Rams not only failed to score a touchdown but also to gain a first down (on the two possessions where that was possible).

The missed chance from the 1 was the second week in a row the Rams had a first and goal from the 1 and couldn’t cross the goal line.

“I think it’s everything,” Bradford said. “I think it’s decision making, execution. It takes all 11 guys doing their job on a play to score a touchdown and I think we are starting to understand that or at least I hope we are starting to understand that. If one guy doesn’t do his job, it results in us not scoring a touchdown and leading to a field goal.”

Of course, the Giants did their part to slow the Rams too, by any means necessary.

Thrown off kilter by the Rams’ no huddle attack, the Giants defense was sucking wind on the Rams’ second possession. So, they opted to find ways to stop the game to catch a breather rather than call timeout.

“It was great,” Bradford said/ “We had them exactly where we wanted on those first couple drives and they couldn’t get set, they couldn’t line up so two of their guys they told them ‘Someone go down, someone go down.’ So someone went down and grabbed their leg. I was pretty frustrated about that.”

That wasn’t the only thing to frustrate Bradford and the Rams, though. Following the opening field goal, the Rams defense came up with another stop and the Rams were poised to get the ball back.

Rookie , in place of , couldn’t handle the punt and the Giants recovered it and converted it into a 3-yard touchdown from receiver Hakeem Nicks after the benefit of another disturbing Rams’ trend, a costly penalty. That one went for 23 yards on a pass interference and Nicks scored two plays later.

After Brown’s second field goal to make it 7-6, the Rams defense got another stop and promptly drove into Giants territory. On third-and-8 at the Giants’ 25, the Rams called for a screen to Williams hoping to catch the Giants off guard when they came with another all out blitz.

But Bradford’s pass to Williams was a lateral and Giants linebacker Michael Boley scooped it up and raced 65 yards for a touchdown as a stunned Williams looked on. Suddenly, it was 14-6 Giants and they never looked back.

“It was a designed screen to Cadillac,” Bradford said. “I think they were bringing zero pressure, bringing someone off that edge. I hurried and tried to get it around the guy and in doing that I threw it backwards. I just can’t do that. In hindsight, I probably should have just called timeout and got out of that play.”

With the Giants benefiting from those Rams turnovers and the team’s eight penalties for 85 yards, Alexander, Bradford and the Rams passing game was tearing off big chunks of yards.

Bradford threw for a career-high 331 yards and the Rams had five plays of at least 23 yards. Alexander was Bradford’s primary target, catching three balls for 122 yards and the touchdown.

“He did a great job today,” Bradford said. “We believed we had some matchups outside that we could take advantage of. They came up and tried to press him a couple times and he did a great job of getting off the line and beating his guy down the field and then made some really nice catches once I put the ball up there.”

Alexander’s emergence and Bradford’s work were far from enough, though as the Rams again couldn’t overcome their own mistakes and came away with another big missed opportunity. .

“We are probably not going to win too many games if we continue to do that,” Spagnuolo said. “We have to find a way to iron it out.”

Forget 4-0, Rams are focused on the Eagles

2011-09-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

Steve Spagnuolo was just minutes removed from completing an unbeaten preseason, and just hours away from starting a weekend of roster cuts. So when does he start thinking about Philadelphia? He couldn't tell a lie.

"Uh, two weeks ago," Spagnuolo replied, evoking laughter from reporters Thursday in Jacksonville.

Quarterback Sam Bradford also came clean.

"Yeah, I've definitely peeked at some Eagles film," Bradford chuckled. "Obviously, the preseason's great because you get some work in live situations. But I'd be lying if I said that my mind was totally into the last couple games and wasn't focused on Philly."

So here come the Eagles — to the Edward Jones Dome for the Sept. 11 season opener. The challenge for the Rams is to make sure the "Dream Team" doesn't turn opening day into a nightmare.

"Yeah, it's going to be exciting," defensive end Chris Long said. "They're a great team. We'll get in there and watch some film on 'em immediately. It's gonna be an awesome challenge and a good barometer to see where we are."

As for the preseason, Rams veterans have been around long enough to know that 4-0 in exhibition play doesn't mean much. When asked if he could take anything out of preseason perfection, running back Steven Jackson flatly replied:

"Absolutely not. ... We always talk about any time they keep score you go out to compete and win the game. But preseason is just that. It's a fine-tuning, allowing guys to get back in the groove of football, allow talent to be evaluated. But now, come next week, we've got to get ready for Philadelphia and the scoreboard really matters."

So what mattered about this Rams preseason?

• Learning the new offense.

It's hard to get a bead on what exactly to expect from coordinator Josh McDaniels. There were preseason games when the Rams emphasized the run, and games when they seemed to put more emphasis on the pass. But Bradford, the man under center, has a growing comfort level in the scheme.

"We were put in a lot of different situations, saw several different types of defenses," Bradford said. "When you look at what we were able to do, I think the things that we did (against Jacksonville), we were much more comfortable with than we were Week 1. We saw some things (Thursday) that I don't know if we would've been able to adjust to in Week 1."

Bradford expects to see new wrinkles from McDaniels on a weekly basis as the season progresses. But the core principles and plays, he has down.

• Establishing the running game.

Even though the Rams found the going tough against Tennessee and Jacksonville, they still finished with 451 yards rushing. That's their fourth-highest total in the 17 preseasons since the franchise moved to St. Louis in 1995, and only 29 yards off the "St. Louis" Rams preseason high of 480 yards in 2004.

Even though the per-carry average was only 3.3 yards, Jackson looks ready to roll after his busiest preseason since 2005, and it's clear that the addition of backups Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood provides quality depth. Beyond the handoffs, the success of the screen pass against the Jaguars was encouraging to coaches and players.

"That was something that we really wanted to work on," Jackson said. "Over the last three weeks we've been unable to get the screen game going. So that was a point of emphasis going into the game, getting the timing down with the offensive linemen and just making sure we got some reps at it before the (regular) season."

• Run defense.

The results were spotty here. The Rams yielded 4.6 yards a carry. After springing major leaks against Tennessee, they had some moderate ones against the Jaguars. In particular, Spagnuolo was not happy with the run defense in the first half, when the Jaguars gained 82 yards on the ground, including runs of 27 and 14 yards.

"And there was one particular play that we've worked on that was a little frustrating," Spagnuolo said. "A simple communication to the end and it gets taken care of. "

But it wasn't, and as Spagnuolo noted: "When you don't stop something, you're going to see it again."

• Receiver search.

The Rams look like they've unearthed a gem at tight end in rookie Lance Kendricks, who led the team in catches (11), receiving yards (155) and touchdowns (three). Spagnuolo, though, has consistently tried to play down expectations for the second-rounder from Wisconsin.

"I think Lance has done a great job both from the mental part of it and physically making plays," Spagnuolo said. "What we've got to remember, we haven't seen everybody's best for every play, for 60 minutes. So I don't want to be blinded by the fact that we did do some good things in training camp. We had some young guys step up. But it's gonna get a lot tougher certainly beginning on Sept. 11."

The top three wide receivers — Mike Sims-Walker, Brandon Gibson and Danny Amendola — all had their moments but didn't get a ton of work. Much of preseason was devoted to seeing what others could do. Mardy Gilyard, Danario Alexander and Donnie Avery all got plenty of work, but none of the three should rest easy about earning a final roster spot. Not with rookie draft picks Austin Pettis and Greg Salas in the mix, or even with Dominique Curry's special teams ability a factor.

"It's one of those things you don't like to see because I think we've got a great group of wide receivers," Bradford said. "I think we've got seven or eight guys who could legitimately play for this football team. I'm not really sure who they're going to keep and who they're not. But I know the guys that are here, we're going to be ready to roll next week for Philly."

As of now, and apparently for the past couple of weeks, that's all that matters for the Rams.

Keys to the Game Answered: Kansas City

2011-08-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

1. On the Receiving End

THE SITUATION: No position battle has been watched and scrutinized more closely in this camp than the one taking place at wide receiver.

That competition should amp up another notch this week when coach Steve Spagnuolo has indicated that the Rams will likely work some different wideouts in with the first group in addition to the usual starters , and .

In other words, it could be an opportunity for guys like , , and to work with quarterback and make a statement about where they belong in the wideout pecking order.

Surely, the wide receiver competition will carry into the final week of the preseason next week in Jacksonville but this might be the most prime chance for someone to make a difference and show they belong.

THE ANSWER: Nobody emerged above anyone else, really as the Rams focused on the running game and spread the ball around when they threw it. Sims-Walker caught a touchdown and tight end had a solid night also.

2. Outside ‘Backers

THE SITUATION: The outside linebacker spot is to the defense what the receiver position is to the offense. There is a lot of competition and players are jockeying for position be it through the defense, on special teams or a combination of the two.

For the first two preseason contests, the Rams went with at the weak side spot and incumbent Na’il Diggs on the strong side while they worked recent free-agent signees and into the mix.

This week, Leber and Poppinga will make their first start flanking middle linebacker .

The veterans have practice with the first team all week and will now get their chance to make a statement against the Chiefs.

THE ANSWER: Leber and Poppinga were solid and the Rams were noticeably better against the run as both were active in helping to slow Kansas City.

3. Stepping Up at Safety

THE SITUATION: One other tweak to the first-team defense has emerged in the past week as began taking repetitions with the top unit in place of on Tuesday.

Stewart practiced with the first team on Tuesday and Wednesday and appears poised to get his shot to line up in the secondary next to .

The Rams have used Stewart plenty in the preseason, especially in nickel situations where he works as the WIL linebacker more often than not.

But this week, they want to give him a chance to show what he can do in the base defense.

Stewart is guaranteed nothing but like the rest of his teammates at this time of year, he’s getting a shot to better his position on the depth chart.

THE ANSWER: Stewart did get the start and was solid as the Rams defense posted a strong performance. Stewart played into the second half.

4. Running With Purpose

THE SITUATION: The Rams opened the preseason with a terrific performance in the rushing attack, pounding away at the Colts with 169 yards on 41 carries with two rushing touchdowns.

Last week, with running back making his debut, the Rams were unable to get on track on the ground, rushing 21 times for just 44 yards. Jackson was slowed down to 10 yards on six carries.

Of course, the Rams didn’t have their starting offensive line intact and faced a more physical Titans defense.

This week, Jackson will get his first chance to run behind the projected starting line. While the entire offense is hoping to get a rhythm, it could start up front with the running game.

The Chiefs play a stout 3-4 defense and should provide a good challenge for Jackson and Co.

THE ANSWER: The Rams got exactly what they wanted as Jackson pounded away early and often. In the first half alone, the Rams rushed 25 times for 123 yards. Jackson ha72 of those yards on 15 tries.

5. Consistency is King

THE SITUATION: The Rams opened last week’s game with a big strike as quarterback Sam Bradford hit Brandon Gibson for an 83-yard touchdown on the game’s opening play.

After that, there were big plays here and there for the first-team offense but it was unable to string any together.

This week, the Rams will look to find the type of play in, play out consistency that is needed to put together drives and put up points.

Keep an eye on drive times and first down numbers. Even if the Rams don’t post a ton of points, they’ll want to at least keep drives moving and prove that they’re grasping offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ offense well enough to move the ball consistently.

THE ANSWER: The Rams would have preferred to continue putting up points in the second quarter but they got a strong enough first quarter performance combined with a late second quarter surge to feel good about where the offense is heading toward the regular season.

Rams Whip the Colts

2011-08-14T04:52:00.001-07:00

ST. LOUIS (AP)—Josh McDaniels’ debut as St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator was a big success. TheIndianapolis Colts got a reminder just how much Peyton Manning (notes) means to the franchise.

Sam Bradford (notes) produced 17 points in four possessions with big help from a defense that jumped on Manning’s backups for a pair of early interceptions as the Rams opened the preseason with a 33-10 victory on Saturday night.

“I’m not sure how much more Josh has in store for us,” Bradford said. “But I felt like everything he’s thrown at us, we’ve handled.

“We went out tonight and executed everything in the game plan very well.”

Josh Brown’s (notes) 60-yard field goal ended an almost perfect first half not just for the offense but for all phases. Brown’s boot bettered his career best of 58 yards in 2003 with the Seattle Seahawks, giving the Rams a 23-3 cushion, and he added a 53-yarder in the third quarter.

“I don’t think I could have pulled him off that field,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said of the 60-yarder. “He was running out there even before I said, ‘Let’s kick a field goal.”’

Manning almost blended into the crowd on the Colts sideline in blue jeans and wearing a ball cap, but his presence on the field was sorely missed.Curtis Painter (notes) and Dan Orlovsky (notes) threw costly interceptions early, giving the Rams possession deep in Indianapolis territory to set up 10 easy points.

“There’s encouraging moments, there’s some that are challenging,” Painter said. “Having another week of practice will help.”

Defensive end Dwight Freeney (notes) also didn’t play and Reggie Wayne (notes)made at most a cameo appearance for the Colts, who beat the Rams 42-6 in the last regular-season meeting in 2009. Indianapolis has made nine straight playoff appearances and will be a lot more formidable with Manning, but has lost seven straight preseason openers.

“We certainly weren’t as sharp as we would like to be,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “The interceptions certainly made a big difference. We’re not quite where we’d like to be right now.”

Manning underwent neck surgery on May 23 and hasn’t practiced. The Colts have said they expect Manning to be ready for the opener Sept. 11 at Houston.

“He’s working with the doctors, and the doctors that he usually does the rehab with were here,” Caldwell said. “He’ll stay with the plan and get his treatment.”

Perhaps the highlight for Manning on Saturday was a visit with former Tennessee backup quarterback Todd Helton before the Rockies played the Cardinals across downtown. Manning and Bradford chatted on the field after the game, just outside the prayer huddle.

Bradford was in for 24 snaps, topping coach Steve Spagnuolo’s estimate of 12-15 plays earlier in the week. He was 7 for 12 for 45 yards and a touchdown while backup A.J. Feeley (notes) was 10 for 14 for 100 yards.

“It’s night and day compared to our first preseason game last year,” Bradford said. “I just feel much more comfortable and much more confident.”

Steven Jackson was in uniform but didn’t play for St. Louis, which excelled on defense without middle linebacker James Laurinaitis (notes) (pectoral). Backup running back Cadillac Williams had 40 yards on 11 carries with a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and Keith Toston (notes) had 64 yards on 11 carries and a 5-yard score.

The Rams totaled 169 yards rushing and had 21 first downs to only 12 for the Colts.

“It’s a preseason game, but you still take pride and want to stop guys,” Indianapolis defensive endAntonio Johnson (notes) said. “We were just a little rusty and we’ve got to straighten some things out and try to come out next week and do better.”

The first half was penalty-free, unusual for a preseason opener and especially because the lockout wiped out minicamps and OTAs. The first whistle was for pass interference on the Rams’ Chris Chamberlain (notes) with 8:17 to go in the third quarter.

Quintin Mikell (notes) picked off Painter on the third play of the game, and his 25-yard return to the Colts 16 set up a 6-yard scoring catch and run by rookie tight end Lance Kendricks (notes), who bulled the last few yards into the end zone.

“Obviously, it was the right read,” Painter said. “I just threw a bad ball.”

Orlovsky entered on the Colts’ third series, and his first pass was picked off by Craig Dahl (notes), whose 18-yard return to the Indianapolis 16 set up a chip-shot field goal for a 10-3 lead late in the first quarter.

Orlovsky and Painter were a combined 7 for 16 for 166 yards and three interceptions. Orlovsky, who was picked off twice, threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Taj Smith (notes) in the third quarter.

Notes: Rams WR Mike Sims-Walker (notes) (groin) and Mikell (left elbow) were sidelined early because of injuries that are thought to be minor. … Backup Darren Evans (notes) led the Colts with 52 yards on eight carries. … Undrafted free agent Mike McNeill (notes), who is from suburban Kirkwood, Mo., led the Colts with three catches for 33 yards.

Time for Rams to get busy

2011-07-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

BY JIM THOMAS

Linebacker David Vobora was working out at a Chesterfield fitness center when he got the news Monday: NFL Players Association player reps had approved a new 10-year labor deal with the owners.

Immediately, his phone blew up with text messages, including one from his grandmother back home in Oregon.

"Believe it or not," Vobora said, laughing. "It might take her over an hour to formulate one text message, but yeah, I got a text from her."

It read something like this:

Congrats on being employed yet again. Love, Grandma.

As a restricted free agent, Vobora plans to sign his one-year tender offer as soon as they let him. No waiting around to see if any outside team makes him an offer. Not this year. Not after a 4½-month lockout. And not with the Rams' preseason opener against Indianapolis just 19 days away.

"It's all football now," Vobora said. "I'll be excited to have that (contract situation) behind me and just focus on the X's and O's and the playing on the field."

Similarly, Rams player rep Adam Goldberg is glad to have all the labor agreement stuff behind him.

"I'm ready to throw my phone down the storm drain and never see it again," Goldberg said. "I'm so tired of talking on the phone, and doing emails and conference calls and interviews — no offense. I'm ready to go back to my anonymity as just another grunt offensive lineman and get the labor stuff out of the limelight."

There are still some important procedural tasks remaining before the "labor stuff" is completely out of the limelight. Like all 32 NFL teams, Rams players still need to vote on re-certifying as a union, and then vote to approve the new collective bargaining agreement.

"All we did (Monday) was approve the terms of the settlement, and part of those terms are us re-certifying as a union," Goldberg said. "In order to re-certify, we've got to get to training camp because we've got to have a meeting where everyone's present."

Even though the doors of Rams Park are open this morning to players on an "unofficial" basis, the first day the Rams are able to meet as a team and can vote to re-certify is Friday — the first day of training camp.

Only meetings and physicals are allowed Friday. The first practice of Rams training camp is Saturday, but as specified in the new agreement, the first practice in pads cannot take place until the fourth day of camp — which is Monday for the Rams.

"We're going to try to get (re-certification) done as quickly as possible," Goldberg said. "We're going to try to get it done in a matter of days."

Unlike several clubs around the NFL, no Rams officials were made available to the media Monday. Coach Steve Spagnuolo, general manager Billy Devaney and executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff were holed up in their second-floor offices at Rams Park embarking on the task of taking a roster frozen at 51 players throughout the lockout and building up to the 2011 training camp limit of 90 players.

All teams could begin negotiating with rookies, whether drafted or undrafted, on Monday after the NFLPA player reps approved the labor deal. The Rams drafted eight players in April, and normally sign between 10 and 15 undrafted rookies. With the roster limit at 90 this year instead of the usual 80, the Rams could end up signing 20 to 25 undrafted rookies this season.

So it's quite possible that by sometime this evening, the Rams will have signed at least two dozen rookies — drafted and undrafted. The actual official signings cannot take place until 9 a.m. today.

When asked Monday evening if he would be signed today, third-round draft pick Austin Pettis said: "That's hopefully in the plans."

Pettis, a wide receiver from Boise State, took part in informal player-organized workouts in late May (at Lindenwood University and Lutheran South High) and in early June in the Phoenix area. Other than that, has been back home in Southern California working out on his own.

The offseason, Pettis said, "Was a little weird. Since high school I've never really had this much time off not playing the sport. Especially going through college those four years, there was a lot of stuff going on in the summer. It's been kind of an adjustment. But I'm excited it's all over and I'm finally going to get to work."

Pettis plans to fly into St. Louis on Wednesday. Many other Rams, particularly veterans, will be filing in today.

"Be there bright and early (Tuesday)," texted cornerback Ron Bartell.

Even Goldberg, who's an unrestricted free agent, plans to be at Rams Park today. Unrestricted free agents are allowed to talk to teams starting today, so Goldberg figures he can do his talking in person to the Rams.

"I think here in St. Louis we have a great football season ahead of us," Goldberg said. "I just hope to be a part of it. I love the locker room. I love my teammates. I love playing for Spags. I love my line coach (Steve Loney). I'm excited to play in (offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels' system. I think it'll be explosive and dynamic.

"So this is obviously a great situation for me. Then again it's a business, so we'll have to see how things work it."

Players aren't the only ones at Rams Park happy to see the new deal. Assistant coaches were docked what one league source said was 50 percent of their pay during the lockout. But because no games were missed (the Hall of Fame game apparently does not apply since it was an extra game scheduled after the coaches' contracts were written), all of that money is automatically refunded to the coaches.

No other Rams Park employees were asked to take pay cuts.

Faulk could get gipped on Hall of Fame week

2011-07-13T06:07:00.001-07:00

Bryan Burwell

When he was in town last weekend, Marshall Faulk had a lot of time to 
think about what he believes will be one of the best weekends of his 
life.

As he sat in a restaurant in the Four Seasons glancing out at the 
shimmering Arch in the distance, the greatest player to ever wear a St. 
Louis Rams uniform was asked to contemplate what it will be like for him 
in a few weeks when he is on that big stage in Canton, Ohio, being 
enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Will you cry, someone wondered?

"I don't know," he said with a quick shrug of the shoulders. "We'll see. 
I'll just let the moment happen whichever way it happens. I just know 
it's going to be a wonderful day, a wonderful time."

I suspect that he's right about that. There can be few events more 
professionally rewarding than to be honored as one of the best there 
ever was. That's the way we feel about him here in St. Louis, where we 
got to see him every Sunday do remarkable things that dropped our jaws, 
shook our heads and allowed us to marvel at his athletic brilliance.

And now the Hall of Fame has come calling, and on Aug. 6 it will open 
its doors to the first member of that sensational championship team 
known as The Greatest Show on Turf.

If you have never been to pro football's Hall of Fame weekend, you're 
missing a treat. From the Friday night dinner, to the Saturday morning 
parade through downtown Canton, to the steamy enshrinement ceremony 
outside the Hall doors, it is a fantastic celebration of the NFL's best 
and brightest stars.

But the darned NFL lockout is threatening to short-change Faulk and all 
his followers of the full experience. The longer the lockout drags on, 
the more likely it is that Faulk's spectacular week in Canton will not 
be as wonderful as it should be. The latest reports coming out of the 
collective bargaining talks now predict that a deal could be ratified by 
next week's owners meetings.

That's good news for everyone but the Rams and Marshall Faulk fans, 
because that might be a week too late to save the Hall of Fame game 
between the Rams and Chicago Bears.

The Rams are scheduled to report to training camp July 22. But if the 
lockout doesn't end until next week, that won't be possible. The owners 
meeting is scheduled to begin July 21 and it's unlikely that the 
contract would be ratified and all league business taken care of in 
enough time for the Rams to report to camp the next day or two.

That means unless the lockout ends this week, the chances are high that 
the NFL will be forced to cancel this year's Hall of Fame game, and that 
would be a shame. One of the rare treats of the Hall of Fame weekend is 
when the streets of the city are full of fans from the two teams that 
are scheduled to play, and both teams have a former player being 
enshrined.

This year, with the Rams and Bears scheduled for that Sunday afternoon — 
Aug. 7 — nationally-televised contest, it figured that there would be 
quite a few car caravans rolling across I-70 from the 'Lou and the Windy 
City to pay tribute to Faulk and former Bear Richard Dent.

I suspect with or without the game, there still will be plenty of 
blue-and-gold clad Rams loyalists in Canton for Faulk's enshrinement. 
But how much better would it be if the celebration of the first St. 
Louis Ram to reach Canton isn't cut short by a day? How much better 
would it be if Faulk were given the full HOF treatment, complete with a 
roaring ovation when he is introduced during the game? How much better 
would it be if he was accorded the full Canton experience like every 
other member of the Hall has received over the years of its existence?

I hope over the next few days, the owners and players alike are properly 
motivated to close this deal in a hurry. I'm hoping that most of all the 
owners don't decide that the Hall of Fame game is the one preseason game 
they can afford to blow off, because it's not a home preseason game for 
the Rams or Bears and won't dip into their revenues as much as a regular 
preseason game.

I hope that they are motivated to get this deal done now because if they 
wait much longer they are at risk of losing all or part of the preseason 
schedule and with it a potential loss of an estimated $800 million. 
That's some serious motivation, isn't it?

That's why economics professor Dr. Patrick Riche predicts the owners 
will get the deal done as early as this weekend, because they don't want 
to mess around with the chance of losing a significant chunk of the $9 
billion revenue they've been haggling over with the players.

According to Riche, an associate professor at Webster University's 
Walker School of Business and a sports business writer for Forbes.com, 
he estimates that in fan expenditures alone (preseason tickets, 
concessions, merchandise and parking), the owners would lose $389.9 
million in preseason revenue and between $349 million to $436 million in 
lost television and radio money if the preseason goes away because of 
the lockout.

They've been squabbling over this giant revenue pie for months now, and 
I can't imagine why it has taken this long to figure it out. I know none 
of them are thinking about the fans when they're behind closed doors, 
but maybe just once I wish they would. Rams and Bears fans deserve to 
have that moment of glory on Hall of Fame Sunday.

Thinking about the fans at a time like this may not be that big a 
motivation for the owners. But isn't that part of the problem in the 
first place?

LA group talks to Rams, other teams

2011-06-13T12:19:00.001-07:00

By BILL COATS 

The Rams are one of five NFL teams that have been contacted about 
possibly moving to Los Angeles, according to a report out of Southern 
California.

Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of the Anschutz Entertainment 
Group, which is negotiating a lease for property on which a stadium 
would be built in downtown LA, told the Orange County Register that he 
had spoken with representatives of the Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, 
Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers.

Although he indicated that his talks with the Rams and Jaguars hadn't 
been extensive, Leiweke said all five teams were "in the mix." But, he 
added, "We're not packing any (moving) vans right now."

Leiweke indicated that AEG would be willing to put up the funds to 
terminate a team's current stadium lease. As an example, he cited the 
$24 million payment that would be required to get the Chargers out of 
theirs.

Under terms of their lease, the Rams could be free to leave St. Louis 
after the 2014 season if stadium upgrades aren't completed.

Rams executive vice president Kevin Demoff said the team's focus "is on 
forging a new labor agreement with the players. However, (owner) Stan 
Kroenke has made it perfectly clear that he's focused on working on a 
lease with the city of St. Louis. He's been consistent in that viewpoint 
since becoming the controlling owner last August."

AEG owner Philip Anschutz, a multi-billionaire, is prepared to purchase 
a majority stake in an NFL team for the new stadium, according to 
Leiweke. Kroenke has indicated no desire to sell and has said repeatedly 
that his goal is to keep the team in St. Louis.

"We look forward to sitting down with the city for further discussions 
once the new labor agreement is reached," Demoff said.

Attempts on Friday to reach Kroenke for comment were unsuccessful.

AEG plans to build a $1 billion, 72,000-seat stadium adjacent to the Los 
Angeles Convention Center. Also, real estate mogul Ed Roski has permits 
for a 75,000-seat stadium about 15 miles east of Los Angeles, in the 
city of Industry. Roski also has not secured a team.

Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani told the Associated Press that the team 
is in frequent contact with Leiweke concerning unrelated business but 
that a move to Los Angeles had not been discussed. Fabiani also said 
that Chargers owner Alex Spanos and his family were not interested in 
relinquishing their majority share of the team.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy declined to comment to the Associated Press 
on whether the league was aware of team discussions with AEG. "Teams are 
permitted to talk to third parties," McCarthy said in a statement.

Rams’ Bradford running workouts like the NFL’s next great quarterback

2011-05-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Sports

After getting a good look at Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford (notes) during a 2008 season in which he put up numbers most non-spread quarterbacks would find inconceivable and watching him recover from two 2009 shoulder injuries, I opined that if he stayed healthy and his work ethic matched his talent, Bradford would be the NFL's best quarterback within three years of the day he was drafted. It wasn't a hard call to make — a good glimpse of Bradford's freaky deep accuracy put me in mind of the evolutionary version of Tom Brady (notes).

And when Bradford showed up at the 2010 Scouting combine with 15 pounds of additional muscle, he put any questions about that work ethic to bed for good. It's why he was taken first overall in the 2010 draft by the St. Louis Rams, it's why he got the Rams close to the playoffs in his rookie season despite an almost comical lack of healthy receiver talent, and it's why he was voted the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year in a landslide.

With the lockout as his backdrop, Bradford is now taking the step that only the true greats of the game ever manage — true team leader. When the Rams began team-implemented workouts on Monday, Bradford was the one drawing plays up on cards for his teammates, the work that a quality control coach would do. Bradford had no issue with it — he figured that because the quarterback has to know more of the playbook than any other player, he would be in the best position to get everything organized from a schematic perspective.

"He would call out a play and he would also break it down and explain it to all the other guys and the young guys who were there for the first time," guard Jacob Bell (notes) told Mike Sando of ESPN.com after the first practice. "He's really doing it big. They are really breaking down and dissecting the plays, going over them, had the cards drawn up, looked pretty good out there."

Not only has Bradford been organizing the practices, he's also taken the step of reaching out to players on other teams familiar with the offensive systems drawn up by new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.Bradford told Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that whole he'd prefer not to name the players he's been "leaning on," he made it very clear that he feels great about the level of involvement and intensity in these practices. "It really wasn't hard to get everyone involved, either," Bradford said. "I've heard stories of other teams having problems getting guys to come in and set certain dates. But I sent out an e-mail to guys and almost everyone said, 'Yep, I'm on board.'"

Guard Hank Fraley (notes) jokingly told Burwell to "Just say that we are hopelessly unorganized. Tell everyone that we have no clue what we're doing," but with Bradford as an emerging leader, there's little chance of that.

You want to know the name of the NFL's next Manning, Brady, Brees or Rodgers? Start in St. Louis.

No One Really Knows

2011-05-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

By Howard Balzer

Since there isn't very much to talk about in the NFL aside from the 
draft (except for counting the days until three judges hold a hearing 
here in St. Louis on June 3), the debate in these parts over what the 
Rams did last week is at times somewhat comical.

How so? Very simple. Those whose perspective is usually negative about 
just about anything spend their time this way:

*Ripping the Rams for what they didn't do in the draft;

*Ripping the Rams for what they did do in the draft;

*Selectively picking out only those analysts whose opinions match their 
agenda, while conveniently overlooking any that had positive things to 
say;

*Labeling anyone locally that tries to explain in rational thought what 
the Rams were thinking as apologists.

Of course, many in that crowd were the same ones that thought the Rams 
were idiots last year for drafting quarterback Sam Bradford instead of 
defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

And yet, they never learn. The goal seemingly is to be as irrational as 
possible, while dismissing any potentially rational arguments from the 
other side.

There is no gray area, only absolutes, as if there is no possible chance 
the Rams actually know what they are doing.

Here is what is usually missed by the hammering crowd: In the analysis I 
have presented since the draft, I have never given a grade, never come 
out and said this was a great or even good draft. The reason for that is 
obvious: I don't know if it is. The rippers think they know, but they 
don't. No one knows, certainly not now, and no one will know until at 
least two or three years down the road.

All I've done is attempt to explain why the Rams did what they did and 
show that it made sense, provided the players are who they think they 
are. Those from "the other side" can't even bring themselves to even 
acknowledge that possibility.

At the end of the day, that is the essence of the draft. The players' 
performance will determine its success or failure, and no 
day-after-the-draft grade will have any bearing on the end result.

Grading a draft immediately would be like a teacher giving an exam to a 
class, collecting the papers, and then giving grades without looking at 
the tests with the result based only on what the teacher thinks each 
student has done.

All anyone has to do is go back a few years and check out some draft 
grades and quickly see what a useless exercise it is. Yet, most everyone 
continues to do it.

Judging character

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo continues to be guided by his "four pillars" 
approach even though some like to take pot shots any time there is the 
slightest slip by a player.

Defensive end Robert Quinn misses his senior season because he accepted 
jewelry and travel accommodations from an agent, and the four pillars 
critics pounce, apparently believing the Rams didn't check him out 
thoroughly.

Cornerback Bradley Fletcher had a DUI in college, the Rams investigated 
fully and determined he was a quality person that used bad judgment. 
It's patterns of behavior and persistent examples of irresponsibility 
that teams like the Rams look at before deciding whether to invest a 
draft pick.

Rams Team Report

2011-04-27T15:55:00.001-07:00

With the NFL lockout continuing, Rams players are fending for themselves but also getting together for workouts to prepare as best they can for a season everyone hopes will be played.

Had there not been a workout, the offseason conditioning program would have begun March 14.

Guard Adam Goldberg has organized the offensive linemen to work out twice a week together at Emerge Fitness with the personal trainer he normally uses.

Said Goldberg, "That way we get some camaraderie and cohesiveness that everybody who knows anything about football knows is important for our group. So we train together twice a week, and then most of us train there at other times during the day on a one-on-one basis."

Other Rams players also work out there.

Rams Adjusting for Rule Changes

2011-04-02T04:50:00.000-07:00

By Nick Wagoner/Senior Writer

On the surface, 5 yards might not seem like much.

But for Rams special team coordinator Tom McMahon and his coaching 
brethren around the league, 5 yards represents a major change in how 
they do business moving forward.

A little more than a week ago, the NFL’s competition committee voted to 
change the kickoff point from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line.

While that might decision isn’t splitting the atom, it will require 
teams to begin devising schemes and looking at special teams in a way 
they haven’t since the kickoff point was last at the 35, back in 1993.

“We’ll have to think outside the box even more now,” McMahon said. “The 
box is different now. The whole box we have worked in for 15-16 years, 
it’s a different box. You can’t worry about it. Some people don’t like 
change. I am kind of excited to see what guys come up with. Kickoff 
coverage and kickoff return is going to be very different.”

Some special teams coaches and talented kick returners around the league 
spoke out against the rule change immediately, saying that it creates an 
unfair advantage for kickers and eliminates an exciting part of the game 
by taking the ball out of the hands of the likes of Devin Hester and 
Joshua Cribbs.

The argument being that kicking off closer to the opponent’s goal line 
will create more kicks deep in the end zone or out of it. That’s one 
thing McMahon believes to be certain.

“There will be more touchback and less kickoff returns,” McMahon said. 
“The other thing it’s going to do is get that kickoff team closer to the 
point of attack so it’s definitely an advantage if you are looking at 
the units of kickoff coverage.”

Much has changed in the league in terms of kickoff returns since 1993. 
That season, there were only four kicks returned for touchdowns and 30 
percent of kickoffs went for touchbacks.

For point of reference, last season there were 23 kicks returned for 
touchdowns, 16.7 percent of kicks went for touchbacks and 38.5 percent 
of kicks reached the end zone.

McMahon expects those numbers to rise again with this change and says 
that he and assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton have spent time 
looking at game film from the 1993 season to see how teams operated with 
the 35 as the starting point.

“We have watched it,” McMahon said. “We got some pretty good film to be 
honest with you and how guys attacked it. You do go back. You have to. 
It’s professional football. You owe it to the players and the 
organization. You have to overturn every single stone and that’s the 
great thing about Coach Spags is we are going to look at everything we 
can to try to get an advantage.”

It won’t just be schemes that will be affected by the change. Teams will 
also have to begin looking at specialists and returners in a little bit 
different light.

Although some insist that there will now be less value placed on a kick 
returner and more on a kickoff specialist who can boom the ball out of 
the end zone, McMahon believes it will actually take on the opposite 
look.

Of course it will be important to have a kicker who can boot touchbacks 
on a regular basis but moving it closer will make it easier for guys who 
might not have previously been able to reach the back of the end zone to 
do so.

McMahon has also studied film of kickers around the league and in doing 
so has tacked on 5 additional yards to each kick. The results have been 
surprising.

“I think it will eliminate the kickoff specialist,” McMahon said. “We 
have started looking, trying to get ahead a little bit. Look at where 
balls are landing and giving them 5 extra yards. It’s scary how many 
balls are landing in the end zone. It’s almost scary shocking.”

The change also means that having a dynamic returner capable of breaking 
a long return when actually given the opportunity to have one will 
become even more valuable, McMahon believes.


The motive for the change comes from the league’s desire to protect its 
players. In recent years, the league has adjusted rules for special 
teams that have eliminated wedges bigger than two players on returns and 
forced pressure units to stop putting a lineman directly over the long 
snapper on kicks and punts.

This change is intended to help eliminate potential head injuries and 
such sustained on kickoff returns but it could create more collisions 
because the league has also added a rule that other than the kicker, no 
player can get more than a 5-yard head start. That will put the kickoff 
teams within a more confined space that is more likely to lead to 
players getting rolled up on and leg injuries.

It also means that teams will have to re-evaluate the type of players 
they are looking at for certain roles within the special teams.

“When you look at every kick returner you can and you put them all in a 
can, what kind of body type, what kind of player is it going to take 
now?” McMahon said. “Do you need a bigger guy back there to break 
tackles or a smaller guy with more speed? You just don’t know. You 
assume you know because they are closer and the point of attack has 
shrunk on the ones you return.”

For his part, McMahon believes that there are a few other factors to be 
considered in looking at the changes. As a coach who doesn’t worry as 
much about kickoff return average and puts his focus on the average 
drive start, McMahon believes that punting style and approaches might 
change as well.

“The other thing that I don’t think a lot of people think of it this way 
is that drive starts should change, you assume rather than the 26 yard 
line, the average in the league this year, now it’s the 21,” McMahon 
said. “That puts more pressure on your punter. If you go and have a 
drive that stalls and get say 6 yards, now you are punting from the 25 
whereas before it was the 32. You need a guy that can change that field 
a little bit. You want the big legs to change that field. That makes a 
big difference.”

Because nobody has worked with the 35-yard line as a starting point 
since 1993, McMahon figures there will be a long period of trial and 
error for teams as they attempt to figure out the best way to attack 
each other.

In other words, there will be a bit of a feeling out process as the 
various aspects of every return and every kick are being figured out. 
Take the normal idea of when a returner is supposed to bring a return 
out of the end zone and when he’s supposed to kneel on it as an example.

“You’ll have to be very definite in terms of where you are going to 
bring the ball out,” McMahon said. “If you are 3 (yards deep) bring it 
out. There’s a lot to it. I think the answers will come possibly in the 
preseason. You would hope they would.”

Other special teams coaches around the league have expressed 
disappointment in the rule changes and the belief that the continued 
changes to special teams are marginalizing their value.

While McMahon certainly understands that part of it, he also doesn’t 
allow himself to worry about things he can’t control.

That’s why there is a big part of him that’s excited about the 
possibilities of working in a revamped world.

“I prefer to focus on the task, that’s my job,” McMahon said. “It’s 
possible that every year it’s going to change. That’s part of the job.”

Lockout could be a big setback for Bradford

2011-03-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

by ROGER HENSLEY

QUESTION: If the NFL owners and NFLPA cannot come to an agreement by
this weekend and a lockout begins, and if the impasse becomes drawn out,
what hurts the Rams more.

1. An inability to get free agents in the
door.

or

2. Sam Bradford’s inability to work with new offensive
coordinator Josh McDaniels

JIM THOMAS

Eventually there will be a free agency period in some shape or form.
But the lost time Sam Bradford has working with Josh McDaniels really
can’t be made up if there is a protracted lockout. The official
offseason conditioning program for the Rams begins Monday and
technically that’s the first day Bradford can meet with McDaniels. So
the clock is ticking.

BERNIE MIKLASZ

It’s imperative for Bradford and the new OC to spend as much time
together as possible and get acclimated personally and professionally.
Whenever free agency begins, the clock is the same for all 32 teams. The
Rams will have their shot at free agents – no better or worse than
anyone else. It’s equal. But there is no way to easily make up for the
time lost, the time wasted, before the vital launching of the
Bradford-McDaniels relationship.

BRYAN BURWELL

The inability to conduct the business of football – recruiting and
signing veteran free agents – is the biggest problem for the Rams. Sam
Bradford is an intelligent football mind and he will pick up on the new
offense just fine. He might not be able to talk with McDaniels during
the strike, but he knows other QBs who have worked in that system. They
can help him in the interim.

But the Rams need players to upgrade this roster and if that is
restricted in any way, it outweighs whatever delay Bradford might
experience in learning the playbook.

BILL COATS

The uncertainy about free agency would be the initial worry for the
Rams, given that they have so many holes to fill. That obviously
complicates their preparations for the draft, too. Unless the lockout
drags on for some time, I don’t think the Bradford-McDaniels situation
is a big problem.

JEFF GORDON

Since I’ve seen no evidence that the Rams are aggressively pursuing free
agents, I’ll vote for Bradford’s lost time with McDaniels – and his
offensive teammates – within the new system. Sam still needs to grow as
a quarterback. This offseason could be big for him. With a new
coordinator coming aboard and so many wide receivers coming back from
injuries, this developmental time is critical.

Atogwe hopes to be back after release from Rams

2011-02-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

BY JIM THOMAS

Even with his release Friday by the Rams, safety Oshiomogho Atogwe says he hasn't closed the door on a possible return to the team.

"My agent and myself have established a really good negotiating relationship with them, so were we to do something again (with the Rams), I don't believe it'd be a difficult task," Atogwe told the Post-Dispatch. "Because there's no bad blood there. We should be able to get something done."

The only problem — for several years — has been agreeing on Atogwe's value in terms of a multi-year deal. Rather than pay an $8 million roster bonus that was due Atogwe on Monday, the Rams released the six-year veteran.

"It's disappointing to be back in this situation, again," Atogwe said. "Not being able to actually be set at this point in time in my career — it's disappointing."

The relative security of a long-term contract has proven frustratingly elusive for Atogwe, a third-round round pick out of Stanford in 2005.

"I'd say it's frustrating along the lines that I haven't been able to feel at home since my rookie contract," Atogwe said. "Where you say, OK this team wants me for the long haul, for the long term."

Atogwe was franchised following the 2008 season, then in a wrinkle of the uncapped year, reverted back to restricted free agency following the 2009 season. As for this offseason, there's no doubt that the current labor impasse between players and owners, and pending lockout, have caused teams to be more conservative financially.

"Yeah, it has been difficult," Atogwe said. "I think that's why it's very important for us to really get a CBA done, in place and secure, so that other guys won't have to go through a similar situation as myself. And that the teams can really move on in paying their bills and grow for the long term. But for me it's definitely frustrating. I'm thankful that I still have peace throughout this, knowing that it's going to work out the way it's supposed to."

Because he is a released player, Atogwe is free to sign with any team immediately. However, if there is no collective bargaining agreement by March 4, no veteran players — even released players such as Atogwe — can sign new contracts at that time.

So Atogwe has a 13-day window to shop the market, but he plans to wait until there's a new labor agreement before doing so.

"I would say I'm just going to take this time to let God speak to me and go from there," Atogwe said. "I am going to wait till the market opens and then go from there."

Besides the $8 million roster bonus, Atogwe was due a $3.5 million base salary with the Rams in 2011, meaning he would have been due $11.5 million total.

Atogwe, 29, has been a starter the past five seasons for the Rams and was the team's defensive captain in 2010 in voting done by his teammates. He was used more in the box in 2010, limiting his opportunities for interceptions but blitzing more than he had in the past.

"I believe that in the positions they put me in I continued to make plays, continued to help the defense be successful," Atogwe said. "And continued to do all the things that I believe are necessary to be a good player in this league and be a good teammate."

Atogwe had three interceptions and three forced fumbles in 2010. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2006, Atogwe has 43 combined forced fumbles and interceptions, the most in the NFL over that span.

Rams officials and coaches declined to comment on Atogwe's release, but general manager Billy Devaney said in a statement: "This is a decision we have made at this time with O.J. We will continue to explore all of our options at the safety position like we will with every other position on our football team."

For now, Atogwe plans to keep working out while hoping that a labor agreement comes sooner rather than later. He has one other item on his offseason agenda: a spring wedding. He's marrying Jill Singletary, the daughter of former San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary.

"I was hoping all this would be settled before then and I could focus on that," Atogwe said. "But that's life. You deal with it."

Faulk is elected to Hall of Fame

2011-02-08T06:09:00.000-08:00

All week long, Marshall Faulk insisted he wasn't nervous, that there was no sense of anticipation, no angst over Saturday's Pro Football Hall of Fame vote.

When friends or relatives asked him about it, he reacted with a shrug.

"I'm good, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong," Faulk replied.

So as he and a group of friends and relatives gathered early Saturday night in a Dallas hotel to await the results, he remained fine. Or so he thought.

When it was announced on live television that he had made the cut to 10 finalists (a maximum of five can be inducted) it was no sweat. A few minutes later the five finalists were announced. But even though he was on that list, he still wasn't guaranteed of being selected. Another vote is taken after the field is whittled to five, and a player has to be included on at least 80 percent of those ballots to be elected.

Gulp. Here it is.

"Oooh. I actually started to get a little nervous," Faulk said.

For a brief moment his entire NFL life flashed in front of him.

"I thought back to some of those games I missed (with injuries)," Faulk said. "You know, maybe I should have played. Or I could've got two more yards before I got out of bounds."

It was the kind of nervousness and anxiety that he hadn't felt since his playing days. Then his game-day instincts took over and he calmed. And then he heard his name.

From the Desire Projects in New Orleans to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, Faulk's football journey was complete as he became the first Ram from their "Greatest Show on Turf'' days to be elected to the Hall.

"I heard my name and it was a relief that I didn't even know I needed," Faulk said.

Not to worry. Indications all week long that he and cornerback Deion Sanders were slam-dunks proved to be true.

However, filling out the rest of the Class of 2011 was much more difficult. The 44 voting media members took 7½ hours to complete their work Saturday. Joining Faulk and Sanders among the modern-day Hall of Famers:

• Defensive end Richard Dent, who spent most of his career with Chicago and finished his career in 1997 ranked third on the NFL sack list with 137½. He was MVP of Super Bowl XX.

• Tight end Shannon Sharpe, who spent most of his 14-year career with Denver but also won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. He ended his career as the league's career leader in catches, yards and touchdowns by a tight end.

• Ed Sabol, who created NFL films in the early 1960s, and whose work played a significant role in bringing the pro game to life and revolutionizing the way sports were presented on camera.

• Sanders played for five NFL teams and brought flair, style, and amazing coverage abilities to every stop. He won two Super Bowls: one with San Francisco and one with Dallas.

In addition to the five modern-era players, both veteran committee candidates were voted in:

• Linebacker Les Richter of the Los Angeles Rams, who made eight straight Pro Bowls from 1954 through 1961 and also handled kicking chores early in his career. Richter died on June 12, 2010 at age 79.

• Linebacker Chris Hanburger of the Washington Redskins, who during his 14-year career (1965-78) was known as the "Hang Man" for his fierce clothesline tackles, plays that are now illegal in the NFL.

Among the modern-day finalists not to get in were running back Jerome Bettis, who played his first three seasons with the Rams, and all three wide receiver finalists (Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed) as the logjam continues at that position.

As for Faulk, he simply is the best two-way back in NFL history, ranking third in yards from scrimmage (19,154), a total that trails only wide receiver Jerry Rice, running back Emmitt Smith and running back Walter Payton.

As Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, one of the hosts on the NFL Network telecast, put it: "They need two backs today to do what he did."

Faulk was just that good both as a runner and receiver.

"He is the best player that I ever played against, and he's the best player I ever played with," said former Rams cornerback Todd Lyght."

Mike Martz, the former Rams head coach and offensive coordinator, talked of Faulk's work ethic.

"He had a coach's understanding of the game,'' Martz said. "He had a professionalism in his preparation that's better than any other player that I've been around."

On the football field, Faulk had a razor-sharp mind, great instincts, and an undeniable will to win. But when his moment came Saturday night, the player whose confidence and swagger helped define the "Greatest Show,'' showed a different side - humility and emotion.

When Rich Eisen of the NFL Network asked if Faulk had spoken to his mother, Faulk nodded, said, "she's proud," and then misted up.

Faulk needed a handkerchief to wipe his eyes. After the TV program concluded, Faulk reflected on his life in football.

"Growing up in the Desire Projects, not a lot of things come out of the Desire Projects," Faulk said.

He credited his high school coach in New Orleans, Wayne Reese, for teaching youth to look beyond what was around them.

"It not where you're at, but where you can get to," Faulk said.

He expanded on what went through his mind when he heard he had been elected.

"I was excited," he said. "I love football. Love, love, love football. It's an honor. I live this game. I breath it."

And he said there was "no doubt" he would be the first of several members of those "Greatest Show'' Rams to reach the Hall of Fame.

"When you just start to put it together, what (No.) 13 did - Kurt Warner- and I hope this whole (logjam) with receivers and where they're at, that Isaac (Bruce) and Torry (Holt) don't get caught up in that," Faulk said. "And then people just forget that we had a great left tackle in Orlando (Pace).

"And I don't quite know what the requirements are for guard, but Adam Timmerman - very reliable, definitely got it done. And then you throw (defensive back) Aeneas Williams in. We had some guys, man."

That they did. But only one Faulk.

What's Next For the Rams?

2011-01-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

By NATE LATSCHFOXSportsMidwest.com
Jan. 24, 2011

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Rams took a big step forward this season, going from six wins total the previous three seasons to a 7-9 record with an opportunity to win the NFC West in their final regular-season game.

The big question now is what comes next for Steve Spagnuolo's squad?

The Rams have plenty to build on with a strong nucleus that includes quarterback Sam Bradford, running back Steven Jackson, middle linebacker James Laurinaitis and defensive end Chris Long.

St. Louis has already made some moves in preparation for the 2011 season, with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur leaving to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and the Rams hiring former Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels as the new offensive coordinator.

Questions abound about how much influence McDaniels, the former Patriots offensive coordinator, will have on the Rams' offense, how much Spagnuolo will allow McDaniels to do his thing and how much different the offense will look next season.

When Spagnuolo met the media to talk about McDaniels' hiring, he made it sound like not too much would change.

"I think there's going to be a natural mesh here," he said. "Keep the things you really like and what you've been doing well and everybody's comfortable with, you add a little bit of something else, and I think it's always great to have a little bit of zip and juice or something new."

When he spoke with reporters on a conference call a few hours later, McDaniels echoed what Spagnuolo had said earlier.

"There's plenty of things that the St. Louis Rams have run last year that we're certainly going to repeat again, and there's plenty of things that we'll probably study this offseason and think that are good ideas that we'll take a look at," he said. "I think you do that every year, and I think that players are really pretty tough in terms of learning. They can figure out what you want them to figure out, and you find ways to do that as coaches. I think it'll be exciting to ultimately figure out now what we're going to make this offense look like in St. Louis."

There is a lot for McDaniels to work with, starting with the quarterback and running back.

Bradford is coming off one of the best rookie seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. The No. 1 overall pick completed 60 percent of his passes (354 of 590) for 3,512 yards, with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 76.5.

The University of Oklahoma product broke the rookie records for attempts and completions and finished second for most passing yards by a rookie in NFL history.

Bradford was third in the NFL in attempts, seventh in completions, 12th in passing yards, 18th in touchdowns, 20th in completion percentage and 25th in quarterback rating.

"I felt like I improved," he said. "I felt like the coaches trusted me more at the end of the year. I felt like they put a lot more on my plate, which is something I take a lot of pride in, the fact I was able to progress in this offense and able to handle more, probably more than I would have expected. Hopefully that continues."

The 27-year-old Jackson was selected for the Pro Bowl for the third time in his seven-year career and finished with 1,241 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 330 carries, an average of 3.8 yards per carry. He also caught 46 passes for 383 receiving yards.

Jackson became the Rams' all-time leading rusher, passing Eric Dickerson, and then became the 12th player in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in six consecutive seasons.

The Rams' offense showed marked improvement from the 2009 season, when they were one of the worst in the league on their way to a 1-15 record.

In 2010, with a rookie quarterback and an unproven group of wide receivers, St. Louis was 26th in the NFL in points per game (18.1) and yards per game (302.9). The Rams were 21st in passing yards per game (204.2) and 25th in rushing yards per game (98.6).

The biggest questions surrounding the offense going into the 2011 season are concerning the receiving corps that lost Donnie Avery and Mark Clayton to early season-ending injuries and how the team can add more playmakers for Bradford to work with.

Several early mock drafts predict that the Rams will select University of Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones with their first-round pick, No. 14 overall, this spring.

St. Louis' offensive line, which featured youngsters Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith as the bookend tackles, figures to be improved next season but could use a boost with the addition of another guard through free agency or the draft.

The Rams' defense, led by youngsters like Laurinaitis and Long, made an even bigger improvement from the 2009 season to 2010.

The Rams finished 2010 ranked 12th in the NFL in points allowed (20.5 points per game), 19th in yards allowed (336.8 per game) and passing yards allowed (223.6), and 17th in rushing yards allowed (113.1).

St. Louis was seventh in the league in sacks (43) and 19th in interceptions (14) after ranking 30th (25 sacks) and 31st (eight), respectively, in both categories the year before.

There are questions on the defensive side of the ball going into next season.

What impact defensive players can Spagnuolo and the Rams bring in? Will they address the need for outside linebackers through the draft or free agency? Will veteran James Hall, who had a team-high 10.5 sacks in 2010, return and make a similar impact in 2011?

It should be a fun offseason in St. Louis.

When Spagnuolo and his players met with the media the day after their season-ending loss to Seattle, each spoke about being excited for the future of the Rams going forward.

"I do believe we have a lot to build on here," Spagnuolo said. "I firmly believe that. I know the players do. People in this building do. There was a lot of good that came out of this season. It's hard to think about that right now, because we're all still a little scarred from yesterday, but I think as time goes on here we'll all realize that we did some good things. I believe this experience that we went through yesterday will make this football team hungry, because when you get right there and you get a little bit of a taste of it, that only just makes you hunger for that particular feeling going forward."

Laurinaitis, who had just wrapped up his second pro season, was eager to start his third NFL season as soon as possible.

"I'm excited about what's ahead for this franchise," he said.

In 2010, Bradford was the difference

2011-01-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

Let's hand out some "Bernie Bits" awards to the 2010 Rams:

MVP, offense: Sam Bradford. Nothing against Steven Jackson, but it's obvious that no player elevated the franchise more in 2010 than Bradford.

MVP, defense: Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis. Not many MLBs in this league can stop the run and cover downfield the way Laurinaitis does for the Rams. And he's the brains of the defense.

Rookie of the year: Bradford — but a special mention to left offensive tackle Rodger Saffold.

Most disappointing rookie: wide receiver Mardy Gilyard.

Best coach: head coach Steve Spagnuolo. His leadership was, for the most part, outstanding. The Rams handled adversity pretty well and Spags was a positive factor in this. The coach made the right call to go with Bradford as the immediate starter and in playing a role in fast-forwarding Bradford's development. Spags really shined in getting his defensive system installed and teaching the players to thrive in it.

The Rams went from 31st in the league in points allowed in 2009 to 12th in points allowed this season. They went from 29th in allowing third-down conversions to No. 2 in stopping third downs. They were 31st in passer rating against last season and No. 9 this season. The Rams went from 28th in sacks per passing attempt to No. 8 in sacks per passing attempt. And they were dramatically improved in the red zone. The rushing touchdowns against them dropped from 24 to seven.

Worst coaching: The Rams' running game underachieved. The design wasn't creative. It was predictable. The Rams made it easy for the defense to stop. This is a shared responsibility. The head coach, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, offensive line coach Steve Loney.

Best leader: Tough call, but we'll go with Jackson on offense and safety Oshiomogho Atogwe on defense.

Best free agent pickup: defensive tackle Fred Robbins.

Most improved player: defensive end Chris Long. He had a combined 36 quarterback knockdowns and hurries to go along with his 8.5 sacks.

Most underrated player: defensive end James Hall.

Most overrated player: Take your pick of any interior offensive lineman — center Jason Brown or guards Jacob Bell or Adam Goldberg.

Ram-tough award: Danny Amendola, the WR and return man. How many times did he get flattened this season, only to bounce right up?

The Rams' firing of longtime equipment man Todd Hewitt is disgraceful. He did an outstanding job. He was a loyal, devoted employee for decades. Todd and his father, the late Don Hewitt, were as much the Rams' franchise fabric and history as any player or coach or executive. I like Spagnuolo a lot, but I have to say this: I worry about him. I don't want to see him become a paranoid, control-freak head coach who only wants to be surrounded by "his" guys, guys that he brought in.

Spags can disregard this unsolicited advice if he chooses, but I'd really like to see him succeed and win a lot of football games here. But one thing I've learned from watching the good and the bad at Rams Park for the last 16 years is this: It's never healthy for coaches to worry about things that have nothing to do with winning or losing games. It's never healthy for coaches to be insecure about having "their" guys in place all over the building. Hewitt was loyal to the Rams because he deeply loves the franchise — which means he was loyal to Spagnuolo and to all of the men who have passed through as the head coach.

I would also submit that there are far greater concerns at Rams Park. Matters that, in fact, directly impact winning or losing. OK, fire the equipment man and terminate the Hewitt family's historical connection to the Rams. Spags has the right to do that, sure. But is he going to hold "his" guys to the same standards? What about the assistant coaches and their role in the poorly conceived running game? Or the play-calling? Or the puzzling use of personnel? What about the weak game management that led to Jackson getting only 11 carries against a soft run defense in Seattle? Was that it? Did Jackson only get the ball 11 times because Hewitt gave him ill-fitting cleats that made it impossible to avoid tackles? I don't think so.

Rams fans can vote for Bradford as league rookie of the year online at NFL.com. Good to see that St. Louisan Dan Connolly will return to his starting guard job for the New England Patriots for their playoff opener next weekend; Connolly suffered a mild concussion late in the regular season. He's played well and gained acclaim on NBC's Sunday night football with the now famous 71-yard kickoff return that launched the Patriots' comeback win over Green Bay in Week 15.

No excuse for Rams' no-show

2011-01-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

Bernie M.

Do you want to talk about the seven wins, and the progress that the Rams made in 2010, and how vital it was to establish QB Sam Bradford as a franchise piece? Do you want to talk about how we'll look back on the last few months and realize that this really was a good season for a franchise that went 1-15 in 2009?

I agree with all of those points. And that would be a good and proper conversation to have. And I am certain we will have that discussion in the coming days. There will be plenty of time for the appreciation that comes with a long-view perspective.

But that's a separate topic. A separate issue.

My focus, for now, is specifically on the Rams' 10-point loss at Seattle. I'm talking about this game. We can talk about the other stuff later. But the 16th and final game -- and a failure to take advantage of such a clear opportunity -- warrants plenty of discussion in the immediate aftermath.

So that's what I'm doing.

It isn't that the Rams lost by 10 points at Seattle on Sunday night.

It's the way it all went down.

I think most reasonable people could accept this with more patience and understanding if the Rams had played well and coached well, only to fall short. But they weren't even close to that. They were embarrassingly bad. Embarrassingly outcoached. Embarrassingly overmatched by a Seattle team that had lost seven of its previous nine games by an average of 22 points.

It's one thing to lose to Atlanta or New Orleans. But to go to Seattle and pull a no-show?

It shouldn't have happened this way. Especially to the offense. And to the coaching staff.

The Rams defense wasn't spectacular. But if you hold the home team to 16 points, three points under Seattle's season scoring average, then you've given the offense a good chance to come out of Qwest Field with a win and the NFC West title.

Granted, Seattle's first series against the Rams was a nightmare, with the Rams blowing assignments and unable to cover Seattle's receivers down the field. But the defense recovered to control the game for long stretches. The Rams pass defense should have been tighter early in the game, and the run defense should have been tougher late in the game. Giving up 141 yards rushing is too much. But again, I don't believe the defense was the reason why the Rams came up empty.

There was something disturbing about the Rams' attitude and approach.

From the beginning, Seattle attacked. The Seahawks came out on the first drive, with the heretofore underwhelming backup Charlie Whitehurst in charge of their fate. And instead of backing away, and playing scared, the home team immediately went after the Rams' necks. On the game's second play, Whitehurst arched one 61 yards down the right sideline to former Rams WR Ruvell Martin to set up an easy TD. With that quick thunderbolt, the Seahawks sent an immediate message: WE ARE PLAYING THIS GAME TO WIN IT, DAMMIT. And that set the tone for the evening. That attitude gave Whitehurst confidence. Heck, it gave the entire team confidence.

On the other side, the Rams were soft. And confused. And perhaps disoriented. They were a team straight from a Talking Heads' lyric: "You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?"

As for the offense, there's one question: what was the plan?

Did the coaches plan to attack Seattle's horrible run defense with Steven Jackson? No, that wasn't it. Jackson's magnitude was reduced by his own coaching staff. He had 7 carries in the first half, 4 in the second half, and 11 overall. And this was a close game up until the end. The Rams were within one score, up until Seattle's late FG that made it 16-6. The game -- and the Seahawks -- invited Jackson to run it, to try and take over. Instead, Jackson became some sort of cameo-appearance player.

OK, so we know the plan wasn't to batter the Seahawks with lots of Steven Jackson. So what was it then? Go after a shaky Seattle secondary with intermediate and long passes? No, that wasn't it, either. Until late in the game, the Rams were content to peck away with 3-yard, 4-yard passes. There was no imagination, no boldness, no form. The Rams were a squeeze tube of paste on offense.

So again: what was the plan? What was the identity that Steve Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur sought to stamp on their team in this crucial game? What did they Rams want to stand for? Like you, I watched this game for more than 3 hours and never once had an idea of what the Rams really wanted to do, or who they wanted to be, on offense.

If you aren't committed to running the ball with Jackson against a rushing defense that was ranked tied for last in the NFL over the previous nine weeks, then at least come up with something better. Try to push the ball down the field. Try to come up with some innovative plays. Try to catch the Seahawks off guard. Get "Big Mike" involved. (And where was he, anyway? Why did the Rams activate him?) Do something that makes some sense: hit the Seahawks with "seam" passes down the middle, which they've struggled to cover.

But if you've decided -- for whatever reason -- not to make Jackson's running a major plank of your game plan, then you'd better have a good Plan B. The Rams had no Plan B, not from what I could tell. They had no plan at all. This was one of the strangest things I've seen in covering NFL football for nearly 30 years.

And since we're on the topic ... attacking with Jackson wouldn't have meant that the Rams were playing it safe, or going too conservative. Not at all. Here's the difference: you are guilty of playing it safe and being overly conservative when your passing game is lighting it up, and you pull the plug on it for no logical reason. Playing it safe and conservative is when you force the run and taking the ball out of your quarterback's hot hands when he's really moving the team through the air. It's when you force the run when the run is not working in a game that's been taken over by your QB.

And that wasn't the case in Seattle. The Rams' passing game was dull. Rookie QB Sam Bradford didn't have anything close to his best stuff. It just wasn't happening for him. And on a few occasions when the Rams had a chance to make plays downfield, the receivers couldn't catch the ball. And that's why Jackson had to be a central figure in this NFC West title game.

You see, coming out in a hostile stadium and (metaphorically) punching a team in the mouth by loading up and grinding away with a 235-pound running back is one of the strongest, powerful and confident statements a team can make. In that context it isn't conservative; it's an undeniable mission statement. It's a show of force.

But SJ39 had 11 carries against a team that had yielded nearly 5 yards per carry over the previous nine games. Why did the Rams' coaches shy away from rushing the football on a night when the running lanes were open? Why did they not make full use of Jackson on a night when Bradford and the receivers were malfunctioning?

Pete Carroll and Seattle didn't make that mistake. Heck, the Seahawks' running game has been weak all season -- only 3.4 yards per rush -- and they never abandoned the run against the Rams. Even after the Rams plugged the run in the 1st half -- Seattle averaged only 1.8 yards per carry -- the 'Hawks stayed with it.

Jackson has started 88 games for the Rams. Only six times has he carried the ball fewer times than he did Sunday in Seattle. And he's their only Pro Bowl selection in 2010. It doesn't add up. If you're going to take the hit and fail on the big stage, shouldn't you at least try to resist by making extensive use of your most decorated offensive player and team leader?

I'm not saying that the Rams should have run Jackson 35 times, regardless of game situation. If Seattle is stopping Jackson and taking him away, then you have to try something else. You can't be stubborn. But Seattle didn't stop Jackson. He had ample running room when the Rams explored Seattle's defense with him. Look, when plays are being set up for pedestrian fullback Mike Karney in key situations, then you know that something had gone wrong, terribly wrong, with the Rams' coaching acumen.

How do you manage only 184 yards and 10 first downs against a Seattle defense that was ranked 29th in scoring defense and 31st in yards allowed from scrimmage? Look, we know this isn't a glamorous, jazzy, high-octane St. Louis offense. We know the Rams lack big-time playmakers. But really, now: 184 yards against Seattle? Those 184 yards were the fourth-lowest total by a visiting team at Qwest Field since the place opened in 2003.

I'm thinking Rams owner Stan Kroenke will have some serious questions to pose to Spags when they get together to review the season. And the 16th game.

Spags had at least two chances to challenge some calls made by an officiating crew that was just as bad as any team in the gadawful NFC West team. Spags didn't challenge. It's almost as if Spags and a lot of his players froze in this game. And I don't know why.

It wasn't all just the coaching. The wideouts dropped passes. The Rams' interior line allowed penetration in the pass rush, and Bradford had multiple passes batted down. The outside linebackers got run over. And Bradford didn't play well. He was outplayed by C. Whitehurst. Sheesh. But Whitehurst had a lot more help from his coaches and receivers in this one. (And it's not as if Seattle has some formidable group of receivers. Not at all.) And by the way: let's not have any more talk about the Rams being OK at wide receiver, and not needing to make an aggressive offseason move or two to upgrade the position. This debacle was an urgent plea for assistance. Unless, of course, you want to waste Bradford's peak years.

The Rams -- painfully -- were not ready for prime time. They were not ready for their close-up. Not ready for this moment.

Again: I realize that this is a building year, and that most people picked the Rams to win 3, 4 or 5 games. The Rams weren't supposed to be playing for a division title. I realize Peyton Manning won three games as a rookie QB so we shouldn't be too hard on young Sam. Got it. Know it. Said it myself. It's been established. The future is promising. There was a lot to like in 2010. That's all understood.

But sorry, this isn't the St. Louis Junior Football League. And the Rams didn't play Sunday's game at Pittsburgh, or Atlanta, or New England. Seattle had lost seven of its last nine and was ripe for a beating. And you don't know when the Rams will get a chance like this again; the schedule will be more difficult in 2011.

And I also think the Rams deserve to be treated like a team that has gotten better, a team that is capable of playing better, a team that has earned all of these kudos and gestures of respect in recent weeks. They deserve to be viewed as something more than a charity-case, sad-sack, sorry outfit. So I wouldn't insult them by giving them a free pass for what happened in Seattle. These coaches and players have higher standards than that.

And after the advances the Rams made in 2010, there's really no excuse for coming into a 16th game with everything on the line and striking out as feebly as the Rams did in Seattle.

Rams beat 49ers 25-17

2010-12-27T08:08:00.001-08:00

ST. LOUIS (AP)—The St. Louis Rams set up a winner-take-all matchup at Seattle for the NFC West title, while the San Francisco 49ers will finish their disappointing season without Mike Singletary.

Sam Bradford (notes) broke Peyton Manning’s (notes) NFL rookie record for completions in a season and the Rams had four sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery in a 25-17 victory over San Francisco—which fired Singletary as coach later Sunday — to remain in position to end a five-season playoff drought.

“Another must win,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “It’s great to have that situation in the 16th game.”

St. Louis (7-8) has already accomplished much, rising from a 1-15 record in 2009. The Rams finished 5-3 at home, their first winning record since the last playoff appearance in 2004, and coming off a wretched three-year stretch in which they were 2-22.

The Rams ended a 10-game losing streak against Seattle with a 20-3 victory in October. Another win would give them their first season sweep since 2004, when they beat the Seahawks a third time in the playoffs.

“That’s exactly what we want,” running back Steven Jackson said. “We control it. We have another tough division foe that matches up with us, but I think the guys showed that we’re hungry to be successful.”

Bradford broke out of a three-game slump of no touchdown passes and five interceptions, throwing a 3-yarder to Laurent Robinson (notes) to put the Rams ahead 22-14 in the fourth quarter, one play after Danario Alexander’s (notes)spectacular 49-yard grab while flat on his back.

Bradford was sharp in the second half, going 16 for 20 for 168 yards. The lone miscue came when Patrick Willis (notes) stripped Bradford on a sack in the first quarter and the 49ers recovered at their own 32.

“I was very comfortable,” Bradford said. “Any time you give a quarterback time, they’re going to get comfortable.”

The 49ers (5-10) got a 78-yard punt return from Ted Ginn and a 60-yard touchdown grab by Michael Crabtree (notes). But they’ll miss the playoffs for the eighth straight season.

In one of Singletary’s final moves, he benched quarterback Troy Smith (notes) in the fourth quarter, one series after the two had a heated exchange.

Smith had 356 yards passing in the 49ers’ 23-20 overtime victory over the Rams last month in San Francisco but was 7 for 19 for 153 yards in the rematch. He put it together for just one series, going 2 for 3 for 85 yards capped by a 60-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree int he second quarter.

Singletary and Smith shook hands in the locker room and the coach did not apologize for the sideline scene.

“I’m sure there’s a right way and a wrong way in today’s life,” Singletary said. “There are many different rules, being politically correct. All I know is I was trying to win a game and the bottom line is you have to do what you think is right.”

The 49ers were 1-7 on the road, where they were outscored 200-117. They appeared to sag after missing a chance to take a 17-15 lead late in the third quarter when Jeff Reed (notes) shanked a 34-yard field goal attempt.

San Francisco cut the gap to five on Reed’s 47-yarder

The Rams totaled four sacks, one of them by James Hall (notes) for a safety after Smith couldn’t handle a poor shotgun snap in the first quarter. O.J. Atogwe’s interception in the third led to one of Josh Brown’s (notes) three field goals.

St. Louis scored a touchdown on its opening drive for only the second time all season, benefiting from an interference call on Nate Clements (notes), with Jackson scoring from the 1 on the next play.

The 49ers otherwise stuffed the run, limiting Jackson to 48 yards on 24 carries and making Bradford beat them. He has 335 completions, topping Manning’s record of 326 in 1998, and passed Chris Weinke (notes) for second in rookie attempts, needing 22 attempts next week to eclipse Manning.

The 49ers led 14-12 at the half despite totaling three first downs and 82 yards in penalties.

Ginn was untouched on his fourth career return touchdown, beating special teams that allowed no return yards on 10 punts by Donnie Jones (notes) in the first meeting. Smith converted twice on third and long during the touchdown drive, hitting Vernon Davis (notes) for 25 yards on third-and-13 and then connecting with Crabtree on the 60-yarder on third and 12.

Rams fizzle after strong start

2010-12-20T08:01:00.001-08:00

Associated Press

Matt Cassel was supposed to be a game-day decision. The quarterback had
no doubt he'd be in the lineup.

Cassel went the distance only 11 days after an emergency appendectomy,
leading the way in a 27-13 victory over the suddenly sagging St. Louis
Rams on Sunday. He didn't think it was a big deal, either.

"Everything felt good," Cassel said. "I feel good now. And a win makes
it feel better."

Before the game, Cassel said one of the team doctors texted that he was
probably more nervous than the quarterback about what might happen.
Teammates were impressed at the quarterback's toughness, too.

"For a guy to come back after having an organ removed from his body,
playing the next week, yeah it's definitely extraordinary," running back
Thomas Jones said. "I'm proud of him, really proud of him."

To the Rams, Cassel didn't look a man who'd just been stitched up.

"He's a tough dude," defensive end Chris Long said. "I mean, he came out
there and slung it around a little, he took a hit or two.

"A lot of people wondered if he'd even play and he played a good game."

Jamaal Charles scored on a short run and helped clinch it with a late
80-yard burst for the Chiefs (9-5), who retained a one-game lead over
the Chargers in the AFC West.

Kansas City managed only 67 yards in a 31-0 loss at San Diego last week
with backup quarterback Brodie Croyle starting, and ended a
seven-quarter scoreless drought on Cassel's 2-yard pass to Leonard Pope
midway through the second quarter.

Jones became the NFL's 25th player to rush for 10,000 yards and scored
the final touchdown on a 2-yard run with 3:26 to go, one play after Ron
Bartell ran down Charles just shy of the goal line. Charles had 126
yards on 11 carries and Jones had 62 yards on 22 carries, and the Chiefs
totaled 213 yards rushing.

Cassel was questionable after getting limited work in practice, but led
the team on the field for warmups and didn't miss a snap while going 15
for 29 for 184 yards. He was rarely hit by the Rams, who sacked him
twice on the same series in the third quarter but couldn't rattle him,
and even produced a first down with a 13-yard scramble in the second
quarter.

The Rams (6-8) fizzled after a strong start, losing their second
straight and missing a shot to solidify first place in the weak NFC
West. Sam Bradford became the third rookie in the NFL to pass for 3,000
yards but it came in one of his worst performances.

"I didn't play well at all," Bradford said. "We let it get away and
there's nothing we can do about it now."

Bradford was 21 for 43 for 181 yards and two interceptions, both times
by Kendrick Lewis. Bradford was sacked three times, all by Wallace
Gilberry, to lead a pass rush that hounded him all day.

The Rams led 6-0 after field goals to end the first two possessions but
totaled one first down in the second and third quarters while the Chiefs
scored 20 straight points.

St. Louis got its first five first downs of the second half on a
12-play, 72-play, drive capped by Steven Jackson's 5-yard run that cut
the margin to 20-13 with 4:04 to go on. The next play after the kickoff,
Charles broke loose for an 80-yard jaunt to the Rams 2, and Jones took
it in the next play.

"When you have eight men in the box, you usually don't get those types
of runs," Bartell said. "We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of
times."

The Chiefs have won five straight in the series since 1997, and were
helped in this one by thousands of vocal fans who made the trip across
Interstate 70. Gov. Jay Nixon attended and presented the Governor's Cup
trophy, usually awarded after a preseason game.

The Rams had five false starts. Bradford said "for a home game it was a
little harder to hear."

"We've got to be better than that," the quarterback added. "I didn't
think I played well at all."

Jones, who alternates with Charles, hit the 10,000-yard plateau on a
4-yard carry early in the third quarter. Jones entered the game needing
17 yards and finished with 62 yards on 22 carries after totaling 1 yard
on three attempts last week.

Two field goals by Josh Brown field goals in the first quarter ended the
Rams' three-game slow-starting slump during which opponents outscored
them 30-0 the first two possessions. The Chiefs managed only 16 yards on
nine plays in the first quarter, and Cassel threw into a crowd on an
interception by Kevin Dockery to end the second series, but outgained
St. Louis 155-8 in the second quarter.

Offensive tackle Jason Smith was whistled for three penalties in the
first half - false start, illegal use of hands and holding.

The Chiefs finished 3-5 on the road. They allowed an average of 32
points the previous five road games.

Notes: Rams FB Brit Miller was carted off with a right knee injury in
the third quarter and is likely out for the season. ... Bradford is
third on the single-season rookie QB list in completions (307), attempts
(517) and yards (3,065). ... Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe had two catches for
53 yards after totaling one catch for 3 yards the previous two weeks.
... The Chiefs had 48 yards rushing on 17 carries at San Diego.

Grit, resolve and another Rams road victory

2010-12-06T10:09:00.001-08:00

By Mike Sando

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sam Bradford rolled to his right, found no one open 
and decided to make a run for it.

Risky move.

Bradford, the St. Louis Rams' record-setting rookie passer, found 
himself facing the Arizona Cardinals' Adrian Wilson.

It's been a tough season for Wilson and the Cardinals -- the Rams made 
it tougher with a 19-6 victory Sunday -- but Wilson can still crack 
heads with the best of them. The Pro Bowl safety wasn't going to miss 
the opportunity. He hit Bradford hard and shook him.

Bradford wavered a little on his way back to the huddle.

What happened next revealed more about Bradford than anything found 
within his worst statistical line since Week 5 (18-of-29 for 187 yards, 
one pick and a 66.3 rating).

Facing third-and-10, the quarterback stared down Wilson again, this time 
from the pocket, and he absorbed more punishment -- all while delivering 
a perfect sideline strike to Laurent Robinson for a 10-yard gain. No 
wonder Bradford tired of all the questions about his durability coming 
out of college.

"If you're a competitor and you take a shot or you get hit in the mouth, 
you're not going to turn it down," Bradford said. "You're going to get 
back up and try to give them your best shot on the next play. That's 
what I try to do."

That's what the Rams did Sunday throughout their second consecutive road 
victory. They weren't pretty. They won ugly. And they were tough.

The Cardinals' Alan Branch drew a penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit on 
Bradford late in the game. Bradford's next pass found tight end Billy 
Bajema for a 26-yard gain.

"[Bradford] is very tough and resilient and strong-minded," Bajema said.

Bradford wasn't alone that way. Cornerback Ron Bartell (shoulder), right 
tackle Jason Smith (ankle) and Bajema (knee) returned to the game after 
suffering injuries that left them in obvious pain. Steven Jackson, still 
playing with pins in his left hand following surgery weeks ago, pounded 
out 102 yards on the ground despite taking a physical beating for the 
second week in a row. Arizona played tough on defense.

"This was our most physical game of the year," Rams guard Jacob Bell 
said.

What did the Rams show?

"Some resolve," coach Steve Spagnuolo said.

What else did we learn Sunday? Let's run through the list:

1. The division race could hinge on Week 17

The Rams improved to 6-6 and remained atop the NFC West, tied with 
Seattle but owning the tiebreaker thanks to a Week 4 victory over the 
Seahawks. The teams play again in Week 17 and it's looking like the 
division race could hinge on the outcome.

The San Francisco 49ers fell to 4-8 at Green Bay. The Cardinals are 
effectively finished at 3-9 following their seventh consecutive defeat.

"To win a division, you have to be able to win road games," Rams 
defensive end Chris Long said. "We're going to have our share of road 
games coming up. I think we've been resilient and that is a good thing, 
in that we have lost some tough ones on the road and come back and we 
haven't let it become a mental distraction."

2. Arizona's QB situation went from bad to worse

Last week, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said the team had no plans to 
get regular-season reps for third-string rookie quarterback John 
Skelton.

Now?

Skelton might be the only Cardinals quarterback healthy enough to play.

Whisenhunt did not name a starter for Week 14 against Denver. He said he 
sensed something wasn't right with Derek Anderson after the Rams roughed 
up the veteran starter in the first half. Whisenhunt replaced Anderson 
with Max Hall in the third quarter.

Hall finished with one fumble, one interception, one dislocated shoulder 
(his left) and a 4.2 passer rating in five snaps.

Skelton finished the game. Unlike Hall, Skelton showed a strong arm in 
completing 3 of 6 passes for 45 yards, including a 22-yarder to Steve 
Breaston on third-and-16. Not that it's ever a good sign when the 
third-stringer is mopping up.

"I'm pretty sure when he was driving to the stadium today he had no clue 
that he would be playing in the role that he did," Cardinals running 
back Tim Hightower said.

3. The Rams' make no apologies for winning on the road

The sorry state of the Cardinals, particularly at quarterback, slaps a 
disclaimer on any sweeping proclamations about the Rams' performance 
Sunday.

The Rams owe no apologies to anyone, however. They had lost eight in a 
row to the Cardinals, a streak dating to 2006, and they hadn't won road 
games in back-to-back weeks since defeating New Orleans and San 
Francisco midway through the 2007 season.

"We showed some resolve and some grit when you think about them having 
beaten us the, what, last three years," Rams safety Oshiomogho Atogwe 
said. "To come here on the road, where we have struggled until last 
week, and play a game good enough to win, we're just showing our growth 
more than anything, getting better each week."

4. The Cardinals' defense showed up.

The Cardinals' unveiled some scheme changes that gave the Rams some 
problems.

"We like to run the ball in the middle, so they blitzed the middle, they 
ran some twists early on first down in the middle, stuff that we haven't 
really seen -- stuff that we were prepared for, but they executed pretty 
good today," Bell said.

Count Wilson, defensive end Darnell Dockett and safety Kerry Rhodes 
among the Arizona defensive players showing some fight after an 
embarrassing performance against San Francisco on Monday night.

Dockett blew up a Rams running play near the goal line, nearly taking 
hitting Bradford before the quarterback could get out from under center.

"For our guys to play with the type of effort that they did today and 
make some of the plays that they did, shows that you got a lot of the 
right guys," Whisenhunt said.

I didn't see much from outside linebacker Joey Porter or cornerback 
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, to name a couple players with Pro Bowls on 
their résumé.

The only time Porter stood out, at least from what I saw, was when he 
yapped away at Smith, the Rams' tackle. Porter finished with two 
tackles, his lowest total since Week 1.

Rodgers-Cromartie, beaten for a touchdown last week, committed a penalty 
to negate a long gain when Arizona used him as a wide receiver early in 
the game.

5. The Cardinals have become the 2009 Rams.

The Rams were the team fumbling through quarterbacks last season. 
Third-stringer Keith Null made four starts.

St. Louis reacted during the offseason by turning over its roster at the 
position.

The Cardinals could bring back Hall and Skelton to compete for a backup 
job, but they need to draft a quarterback and find veteran spot starter 
with some accuracy. Marc Bulger comes to mind as one potential option, 
provided the former Rams starter has used this season in Baltimore to 
get healthy and get his mind right.

At least there's no way the Cardinals can convince themselves they're OK 
at the position. Their experience this season demands change.

"Sometimes you take it for granted, how great it is to have a guy like 
Sam who kind of solidifies the position for years to come and also in 
the immediate future you know what you've got back there -- a guy who 
can put you in position to win every game," Long said. "It's really a 
blessing and it makes football feel a lot different when you have that 
steady force back there and it's not inconsistent or unpredictable."

Rams took us on a wild ride this trip

2010-11-29T10:49:00.000-08:00

by Bryan Burwell

DENVER • Just in case you thought you were the only one who spent most of Sunday afternoon slaloming along on this wild emotional ride between the peaks of hilarity and the depths of football depression, just in case you figured you were the only one staring at the television wondering if you were witnessing a fascinating thrill ride or a potentially devastating train wreck, allow me to take you inside the visitors' locker room of Invesco Field at Mile High.

Over there on the far wall of this bustling winner's locker room, Sam Bradford, still in uniform, shoes untied, jersey on the floor, slumped in a chair in front of his locker stall, indulging in the spoils of victory.

"Man, that was crazy," the quarterback said as he munched on a biscuit out of his postgame lunch box. "Up one minute, down the next and back up again. Crazy, man, crazy. Wow."

And then the kid flashed a big old smile from beneath that scraggly beard, took one more big bite on that biscuit and finished talking.

"But tell me again, what was the final score?"

Rams 36, Denver Broncos 33.

"Well, then, isn't that all that matters? We won, right?"

Exactly, Sam. The Rams won a road game, people. Can I get an amen?

It wasn't perfect. In fact, it was downright ulcer-inducing. But when you are a franchise that has for far too long treated life on the road like one endless misguided adventure, when you've spent the past four seasons compiling one bad road disaster after another (55 weeks without a road victory, two victories away from home since 2008 and a staggering 4-24 road record since the start of the 2007 season), who are we to quibble about style points?

This is a Rams team that is taking all the small steps in the right direction, even if they still tend to stumble occasionally at the worst possible times. But here they were at one of the NFL's great road venues — a place that used to shiver, shake, rattle and roll when the Broncos were winning AFC titles and Super Bowl trophies — and the youngsters found a way to win a game when they had to.

It was the perfect game for a team that is still trying to find its way and discover its stature in the NFL. We don't know what they are quite yet, but we do know that their season still has meaning with this important road win. The Rams are 5-6, which doesn't sound like much if you live in places like New England or New York, Chicago or New Orleans. But for a team that was 1-15 only a year ago, it's enormous. Then throw in the insane bonus that the Rams are now officially back in first place in the NFC West with five games to play, and you might as well be living on a cloud.

Now think about this, too: In a few days it will be December, and the Rams will be on top of their division standings, and they're built to stay that way when you realize their division is cluttered with deeply flawed and rapidly declining competition.

But it was also a game that provided plenty of perspective, because it wasn't remotely a complete game. Let's just say it was a fun three quarters.

Let's begin with young Mr. Bradford, who is no longer a rookie, and it's becoming difficult to remember the last time he actually did look like one. The Broncos' defensive game plan was to make sure that Steven Jackson didn't beat them (Jackson gained some of the most brutal 72 yards you'll ever see against eight and nine men in the box all day long), and they dared the kid to do it with his arm.

And guess what?

He did.

He had his first 300-yard game, completed 22 of 37 passes for three touchdowns and an eye-popping 113.3 pass efficiency rating. He threw the ball deep to all his receivers and he challenged the Broncos up the sidelines and — gasp and swoon! — up the middle of the field. Danario Alexander came off the inactive list and averaged only 23.8 yards a catch. Laurent Robinson is starting to look like a receiver who can get deep, too (14.5 yards a catch), and Danny Amendola just keeps on doing everything right (he caught four balls for 41 yards and killed the Broncos with three end-arounds for 48 yards). And Bradford used his tight ends brilliantly, too (two TD catches by Billy Bajema and one by Mike Hoomanawanui).

Then the fourth quarter started and the Rams' coaches went all fair and balanced on us, which is to say they got incredibly conservative.

Again.

Ah, yes, shall we discuss the fourth quarter? You know those final 15 minutes where Rams fan swallowed their hearts, and the Rams' coaches apparently lost all their nerve?

There was so much to like about this game until the fourth quarter. The Rams bounced back from a 10-0 deficit with the stadium beginning to feel very much like it used to when John Elway was thrilling the home folks. With all that foot stomping going on in the upper deck, I swear the press box was vibrating like we were in an earthquake. But then the offense started clicking, outscoring the Broncos 30-3, and the Rams went into the fourth quarter with a 33-13 lead. It was a thing of beauty going into the fourth quarter, and you could see the stands emptying out as disgruntled Broncos fans stopped booing and headed for the parking lot.

But then it started to happen.

It was that very familiar, queasy feeling we've felt before in Tampa and in Oakland and in San Francisco. That creeping sense that no lead is safe when the Rams are away from the Edward Jones Dome. They didn't attack. They retreated. They played it safe, just like they have done so many other times when the Rams could have put away victories in Tampa, Oakland and San Francisco.

After the game, coach Steve Spagnuolo admitted that even while basking in the thrill of victory, he couldn't understand why this team continues to struggle with its ability to be cold-blooded killers. He was smiling this time, but it was the nervous laughter of a man who knew he'd just narrowly escaped a piano falling on his head.

"I just know this," Spagnuolo said. "Going forward, if you are going to win consistently in this league, your defense has to find a way to close out football games, especially when you are up by two scores. You have to find a way to do that."

But as time goes by, it's becoming more apparent that the struggles on the road are not always a simple matter of execution by the players. Sometimes, it's also a matter of style and approach, and that is all on the coaches. Sometimes you have to stick with what got you here. Earlier in the year, it was an understandable approach because you were protecting a rookie quarterback. But Bradford isn't a rookie anymore and this team is ready to win games without racing the last few laps under the ever-present caution flag.

Rams Can’t Quite Keep Up with Falcons

2010-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

Posted by nickwagoner on November 22, 2010 – 12:58 AM

- The Rams came into Sunday’s game looking to bounce back from a tough loss to San Francisco last week. But the task was tall with a talented Atlanta team coming in and ultimately it was too much for them to overcome in a 34-17 loss at the Edward Jones Dome.

- The Falcons are the best team the Rams have played this season. They’re extremely balanced offensively and they play stout, solid defense that doesn’t allow much in the way of big plays. With the win, Atlanta moves to 8-2 on the season. The Rams fall to 4-6 with the loss but the rest of the NFC West teams also lost Sunday, which means the Rams didn’t lose any ground in the divisional race.

- On the injury front, the Rams had nothing too serious. Tackle Rodger Saffold tweaked his shoulder and will have an MRI but that was the only ailment of concern for coach Steve Spagnuolo after the game. S Oshiomogho Atogwe, CB Ron Bartell and CB Justin King missed time during the game with cramps but they all returned.

- As for the game, the final score is certainly misleading. With 3:31 to play, the Rams had the ball at Atlanta’s 2 trailing by nine. A touchdown there and they had all timeouts remaining with a chance to get the ball back. Atlanta finished the game with a late 39-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner for the final margin.

- For most of the game, Atlanta controlled the ball and the clock with its balanced offense. QB Matt Ryan is a heck of a player. Not many quarterbacks in the league are better against the blitz than he is. He dissected the Rams on the blitz and was able to keep his team on the field time and again.

- A few things that really hurt the Rams: time of possession and field position. The Falcons had the ball for 35:55 to the Rams’ 24:05. And the Falcons took full advantage of good field position, particularly in the first half. A big kick return was the impetus for that.

- The Rams went sackless against Ryan and the Falcons, a disappointing showing for a group that has been the best in the league at getting to the quarterback.

- QB Sam Bradford set a rookie record for consecutive attempts without an interception with 169. That streak ended on a bizarre, fluky interception at the goal line on a late shovel pass. That was the play that killed the Rams’ drive at the goal line and ended the Rams’ chances.

- TE Michael Hoomanawanui collided with G Adam Goldberg on the play, throwing off the timing as the ball ended up in the hands of Atlanta S William Moore.

- Hoomanawanui had a solid performance, catching four passes for 46 yards with a touchdown. His 18-yard grab down the sideline was a thing of beauty.

- Nice effort, Brandon Gibson. He had five catches for 42 yards and his touchdown grab on a fade to the left corner of the end zone was outstanding as well.

- Steven Jackson finished with 54 yards on just 11 carries but Atlanta made it obvious it wanted to take him away. And the Rams weren’t on the field enough to continue feeding him. Congrats to Jackson for reaching 10,000 career yards from scrimmage, though.

- In the locker room after, the Rams were quick to give credit where its due. Atlanta is an excellent team and probably the top contender in the NFC right now. That’s the type of team the Rams are striving to become.

- It doesn’t get any easier from here. The Rams now go on the road for three straight, starting next weekend in Denver. In order to stay in the race, they’ll need to find a way to get that elusive first road victory.

Rams Lose in OT

2010-11-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

BY JIM THOMAS

SAN FRANCISCO • The Rams pushed and pushed, and pushed some more. If that elusive first road victory was a boulder, they had it at the top of the hill and could almost see the other side — the down hill side.

But once again, they slipped and got flattened by it. It's difficult to imagine any road loss being more wrenching than the 18-17 loss at Tampa Bay three weeks ago. But this was it, a 23-20 overtime defeat to San Francisco on Sunday at Candlestick Park.

"When you have a team, third-and-forever, fourth-and-forever, for them to convert it and come back and get a touchdown — that can't happen," cornerback Ron Bartell said.

It happened. The Rams led 17-13 in the closing minutes of regulation, but San Francisco wiggled out of third-and-32 and fourth-and-18 holes leading to a go-ahead touchdown catch by wide receiver Michael Crabtree with 2 minutes, 10 seconds to play.

Undaunted, the Rams drove 70 yards on their next possession, tying the score as time expired on Josh Brown's 33-yard field goal. Just four plays earlier Steven Jackson, who had 148 yards rushing and receiving, put the Rams in position to win the game in regulation managing to stay inbounds on a 25-yard catch with linebacker Takeo Spikes draped all over him.

But a couple of plays later, on a second-down play from the 49ers 15, tight end Daniel Fells dropped a pass at the Niners' 7 on a play he might have scored on. "I've got to come up with that catch," Fells said. "I take everything personal. I go out there and I bust my butt every single down, every single play, and I expect to make those plays so I can help my team win."

But it was one of those games where there were several plays like that, good and bad. And lots of questions.

Why, for example, did Kevin Dockery start ahead of Bradley Fletcher at cornerback? According to STATS LLC, only 49 percent of the passes directed at Fletcher had been completions this season.

"We've got a lot of competition in a lot of spots, to be honest," coach Steve Spagnuolo said, when asked about starting Dockery. "You know I'm of the thinking, the philosophy, that there should be competition all the way through. I think it makes guys play harder and better. So 'Dock' got his shot and we'll see where it goes for this coming week."

Dockery, biting on a play fake, was beaten by Vernon Davis for a 32-yard gain on the 49ers' first play from scrimmage. He was then beaten by Josh Morgan for a 65-yard gain on the first play of San Francisco's second series, which led to the game's first touchdown.

Dockery was replaced on the next series by Fletcher in the Rams' base defense, although he stayed in the game in other packages.

And more pertinent to the ending of the game, why did referee Ed Hochuli's crew call pass interference on safety Oshiomogho Atogwe in overtime, on a play that clearly looked like an uncatchable ball?

The Rams seemingly had San Francisco stopped on third-and-2 from the St. Louis 45. Defensive end Chris Long, who spent most of the day in the 49ers' backfield, was in the process of bringing down quarterback Troy Smith on the play.

Smith got the ball off, but it was a wobbly duck, destined to fall incomplete in the middle of the field, nowhere near a 49ers receiver. But as tight end Delanie Walker stopped and turned back to make an attempt for the ball, he collided with Atogwe, who was trailing in close coverage.

Out came the flag. Instead of punting from the 45 on fourth down, the Niners had a first down at St. Louis 23, already in field goal range. Two Frank Gore runs later, Joe Nedney kicked a 29-yard field goal with 9:39 to go in overtime for the victory, which boosted San Francisco's record to 3-6 after an 0-5 start.

Spagnuolo said he tried to get an explanation from the officiating crew on the call. "I asked, but it's noisy and I was screaming to ask," he said. "It was called."

Did he agree with the call?

"I'm not going to comment on that," Spagnuolo said. "You have to play the next down based on the way they officiate it, and that's what we did."

Attempts by the Post-Dispatch for a pool report on the call were unsuccessful.

Atogwe had left the locker room. But when Bartell was asked if he thought the pass was uncatchable, he replied, "Yeah, yeah. I thought a couple of the pass interference calls were questionable. At the end of the day you have to play above officiating. We still had opportunities to make plays and we didn't get it done."

Nope. Instead of putting a dagger in the 49ers' attempt to salvage their season, the Rams lost their fourth game the season by four points or fewer. Three of those tight losses have come on the road, where the Rams remain winless since Nov. 1, 2009.

For the third time this season, the Rams had a chance to get above .500 with a road victory. For the third time this season, they fell short, losing for the fifth straight time to San Francisco.

At 4-5, the Rams dropped a game off the pace in the NFC West behind Seattle (5-4), which defeated Arizona 36-18.

"We're not the old Rams," Long said. "We're trying to be a new team and set a new standard. And the standard isn't losing close games on the road."

Rams vs. Panthers--Postgame Notes

2010-11-01T10:48:00.001-07:00

- The Rams improved to 4-4 on the season as they defeated the Carolina Panthers 20-10. It was St. Louis’ fourth consecutive home win, giving the Rams a 4-1 record at home this season.

- Prior to the game, the Rams honored former WR Isaac Bruce by retiring his number 80 jersey. Bruce became the ninth player in franchise history to have his jersey retired, and many of his former coaches and teammates were on hand for the ceremony.

- During Bruce’s ceremony, several dozen fans formed a tunnel through which Bruce and his former teammates walked to the center of the field. Those making up the tunnel were fans chosen through a lottery of 15-year Personal Seat License (PSL) holders and other select fans.

- QB Sam Bradford completed 25-of-32 passes for 191 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to give him a single-game career-best passer rating of 112.4. Sunday was Bradford’s third consecutive game without an interception, and he’s now gone 96 consecutive attempts without being picked off.

- Bradford was 9-of-11 for 73 yards and two touchdowns on third down Sunday, good for a passer rating of 133.9.

- For the fifth time in as many home games this season, the Rams held their opponent under 17 points. Defensively, St. Louis is allowing just 12.6 points per game at home this season and 17.6 points per game overall.

- RB Steven Jackson gained 63 total yards (59 rushing, 4 receiving) to give him 9,839 yards from scrimmage on his career and moved past WR Henry Ellard (9,816) into fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list.

- The Rams held Carolina to just 25 rushing yards Sunday, the second lowest total allowed by St. Louis since the club relocated to the Gateway City in 1995. The 25 yards allowed were the fewest given up on the ground since Carolina rushed for 31 yards against St. Louis on Nov. 11, 2001.

- St. Louis won the time of possession battle 36:28 and held Carolina to 0-for-4 on third down in the first half.

- As a team, the Rams forced four turnovers, including three interceptions, and St. Louis scored 10 points off of takeaways Sunday. Three of the team’s takeaways came in the fourth quarter. On the season, the Rams have 15 total takeaways. St. Louis had 20 in 16 games in 2009.

- LB James Laurinaitis ended Carolina’s first drive of the day when he intercepted Matt Moore’s first pass attempt of the game. The interception was Laurinaitis’ first of the season and third of his career. Laurinaitis also sacked Moore later in the game, the linebacker’s second sack of the season.

- The Rams held the Panthers scoreless in the first quarter, marking the sixth time in eight games this season that their opponent has failed to score a first quarter point. St. Louis has allowed zero points in the first quarter at home this season and six total first quarter points in 2010.

- WR Danny Amendola caught a touchdown pass for the second consecutive week. His two-yard catch, his second of the season and third of his career, gave the Rams a 10-3 lead just before halftime. Amendola now has 15 consecutive games with at least one reception.

- Seven different Rams caught a pass Sunday with Amendola and Brandon Gibson tied for the team lead with six catches each.

- S Craig Dahl recorded his third forced fumble of the season when he stripped WR Steve Smith late in the third quarter. DE Chris Long recovered, and the takeaway resulted in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Bradford to TE Daniel Fells.

- St. Louis recorded its third takeaway of the day when DE James Hall hit Moore’s arm and forced an errant throw that was intercepted by S James Butler. The interception was Butler’s second of the season, and led to a 41-yard Josh Brown field goal.

- DE Chris Long recorded a sack, giving him three consecutive games with at least 1.0 sacks for the second time in his career. Long now has 4.5 sacks on the season, second among Rams defenders.

- S Oshiomogho Atogwe clinched the victory with an interception on Carolina’s last drive of the game. Atogwe has two interceptions on the year and 21 for his career.