Unlevel Playing Ffield: Field position, fan support help Packers

By Jim Thomas

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

12/17/2007

For nearly three quarters, the St. Louis game plan worked effectively and the Rams stuck with it. They established Steven Jackson and the running game early, and took their shots with Marc Bulger in the passing game.

Through three quarters, the Rams had a 2-to-1 edge in possession time and had outgained Brett Favre and the potent Green Bay offense by nearly 100 yards. Yet, when the Rams looked up at the scoreboard at the Edward Jones Dome — aka Lambeau Field South — they trailed by two touchdowns.

How did this happen?

Well, some gridiron historians refer to football as the "100-yard war." On Sunday, it became more like a "50-yard skirmish" for the Packers. Thanks in large part to lousy special teams play, the average starting point for the Packers' drives was their 48-yard line.

Of Green Bay's 12 offensive series, six started in St. Louis territory. Three others started at the Packers' 40, 44 and 48-yard lines.

"I just know when we're on offense and we hit the 50, it's kind of like you're going downhill," Bulger said.

The Packers were going downhill all afternoon, like a sled on the snow at Art Hill. Of the 53 offensive plays by Green Bay, 41 began in St. Louis territory.

"You're not going to beat a good football team like (Green Bay) doing that," coach Scott Linehan said.

Given such a lopsided edge in field position, it's almost surprising that the final score wasn't more lopsided than Green Bay 33, Rams 14.

"They have only two losses for a reason," Bulger said. "They're a good team. They made us play with that field position."

And made them pay because of that field position. Green Bay's victory coupled with Seattle's loss to Carolina clinched a first-round playoff bye for the Packers (12-2).

On a day when Favre eclipsed Dan Marino's NFL record for career passing yards, it seemed as if all of Green Bay was on hand. With Rams fans continuing to bail on their 3-11 team, thousands of "lower bowl" tickets belonging to Rams season-ticket holders ended up in the hands of Packers fans.

Green and gold were the colors of the day. Cheeseheads everywhere. Dozens of pro-Packers signs throughout the stadium. There was no way to know officially, but it looked as if there were more Packers fans than Rams fans in attendance.

"It was a joke," Jackson said. "It's as simple as that. The whole (lower) level was Green Bay Packers. We allowed them to put up signs. It's a joke."

"That was the worst, as far as the other team's fans," center Andy McCollum said. "There was way too much green in there if you ask me. But what are you going to do?

"If we win some more ballgames, it'd probably be a different story. So we've got to take control of that and make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen. It was almost like Lambeau."

The Rams may have felt like visitors, but they were playing well enough to make it a game and threaten an upset midway through the third quarter.

En route to a season-high 143 yards rushing, Jackson already had 103 yards by halftime, including a 46-yard touchdown run in which the Rams caught Green Bay in a blitz. All told, the Packers' ninth-ranked defense yielded a season-high 173 yards rushing.

Bulger, back in the lineup after missing the past two games with a concussion, threw a first-quarter touchdown pass to Torry Holt, who beat Packers cornerback Al Harris badly on the play.

It remained a one-score game as the third quarter wound down — even with the Rams' kickoff coverage unit and punting team springing major leaks. And even with wide receiver Drew Bennett letting what would have been a first-down pass from Bulger deep in Packers territory go right through his hands for an interception.

But the back breaker came with 6 minutes remaining in the third quarter. On third and 10 from the St. Louis 44, the Rams' defense went after Favre with an all-out blitz. There was just one problem: No one bothered to cover Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings. With the blitz bearing down on him, Favre lobbed a pop fly to Jennings. He was so open, he might have had time to run into the stands, grab a Cheesehead hat, come back on the field and still catch the football.

As it was, Jennings hauled in a 44-yard touchdown pass from Favre, giving Green Bay a 27-14 lead with 5 minutes, 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

"We were in 'zero' coverage, man coverage," Linehan said. "I think we had just a miscommunication between a couple of players, on who was taking the vertical and who had the underneath coverage. Obviously, you can't do that."

Cornerback Ron Bartell and Oshiomogho Atogwe both jumped the underneath route, a crossing pattern by Donald Driver. That left Jennings, running a "streak" route straight down the field, uncovered.

"It was just a mix-up in coverage," Atogwe said. "It was a bad decision on some of the guys' parts. It just happens like that. It's one of those plays you'd like to get back. But you just learn from it."

Welcome to Rams football, 2007.

Rams' Linehan won't get fired for 3-10 record

By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Coach Scott Linehan won't lose his job because of the St. Louis Rams' 3-10 record.

Team president John Shaw told Linehan on Monday it would be unfair to judge his performance this season, given the team's lengthy injury list. Later in the day, Linehan said he was looking forward to an end-of-season meeting in early January.

"It's important to know you've got support and those things," Linehan said. "But at this point it's really not my issue. My issue is trying to get our fourth win."

The Rams were 8-8 in Linehan's first season and were perceived as a contender in the NFC West in the preseason. But they began the year with eight straight losses, mitigated by numerous injuries.

St. Louis has 11 players on injured reserve, seven of them starters. The two feature players on offense, quarterback Marc Bulger and running back Steven Jackson, both have missed significant time because of injuries.

"I felt the last month or so that the obstacles were somewhat insurmountable for him," Shaw said in a telephone interview. "From the first game the offensive line was a mess, and then Marc and Steven got hurt.

"From Day 1, it was almost impossible to evaluate him."

Shaw said the last couple of weeks he's emphasized that Linehan just keep trying, and believes it's clear that players still believe in him.

"I felt all along I was kind of telling him that myself and ownership felt it was very hard to evaluate him just on this year's performance," Shaw said. "I told Scott today and he kind of sensed it was coming."

Bulger has missed the past two games because of a concussion and his availability remains a question mark for next week's game against the Packers. The Rams promoted Brock Berlin off the practice squad and he made his NFL debut Sunday. Berlin was 17-for-28 for 153 yards and an interception against the Bengals.

Offensive coordinator Greg Olson said Bulger was feeling better on Monday, a day off for players. Bulger practiced last Wednesday and Thursday after passing a neurological exam, but began experiencing concussion symptoms in meetings Thursday afternoon and was not active for the Bengals game.

"We're optimistic about that," Olson said. "He said he's ready to give it a try again on Wednesday."

Shaw continues to be based in Los Angeles, where the team had been located before moving to St. Louis in 1995, and doesn't attend every road game. But Linehan said the two speak every week, and on Monday they communicated by telephone.

"He's very supportive and he understands," Linehan said. "I also understand this isn't where we wanted to be.

"It's not the record we intended on having, but the focus is to improve at season's end and continue to get better in certain areas."

Linehan said Shaw has told him to be prepared for a comprehensive meeting after the season.

"He wants me thinking about some of the things we want to get done," Linehan said. "He definitely wants my mind in that direction.

"I'm sure we'll talk about pretty much everything."

The Rams have had three home games blacked out on local television because they've failed to sell out, after only one blackout in the first 12 seasons in St. Louis. Shaw said a winning team will address the apathy.

"If I didn't think the fans would support an NFL team, we wouldn't have moved there," Shaw said. "All sports are cyclical and obviously we've had a down year, and I understand the fans' frustration when the team isn't winning.

"All we can do is attempt to improve the product and hope the fans come back."

Jackson's dash is exclamation point

By Bill Coats

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

12/03/2007

For much of the afternoon, Rams running back Steven Jackson was a marked man. Atlanta regularly stacked the box — the area between the tackles — with eight defenders to "try to make us beat them with the pass," quarterback Gus Frerotte said.

Jackson's first 19 carries netted only 46 yards. But No. 20 was a doozy.

With the Rams clinging to a five-point lead, Jackson barged up the middle, then bounced out to the left side. Once he turned the corner, "all I had to do was outrun them," he said.

The 50-yard dash with 1 minute 17 seconds to go nailed down a 28-16 victory at the Edward Jones Dome. "I think we caught them being overly aggressive," Jackson said. "Most of the time they had a guy watching for the back-side cut. He got a little greedy and we were able to take advantage."

Jackson also caught four passes for 71 yards, giving him a season-high 167 total yards.

PLAY OF THE DAY: Less than 2 minutes remained when Falcons quarterback Chris Redman lofted a ball down the left side, aiming for wideout Michael Jenkins. Free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe swooped in for the interception, then raced 27 yards to the 50-yard line.

"I just try to focus on the point of the ball, make sure I catch it first, and then see what happens afterward," said Atogwe, who has a pick in each of the last four games and a team-high five for the year.

GAME BALLS: Rams — WR Torry Holt (6 catches, 135 yards, 1 TD). Falcons — WR Roddy White (10 catches, 146 yards, 1 TD).

WHAT WAS HE THINKING? Two key decisions by coach Bobby Petrino were dubious. He went for two points, and failed, after the Falcons closed to 21-9. An extra-point kick still would have left them a touchdown (plus a 2-pointer) and a field goal shy. Now, they needed two touchdowns. And he went for the TD, and failed, on fourth-and-7 from the Rams 9-yard line at 21-16 with 2:14 left. Kick the short field goal to make it 21-19, then use your three timeouts and the two-minute warning to get the ball back needing only a field goal to win it.

MORE FOR MOORE: Defensive end Eric Moore's first career start was a bit of a surprise. Adam Carriker was introduced as the starter at end opposite Victor Adeyanju, but on Atlanta's opening series, Carriker and La'Roi Glover were at tackle, with Moore on the outside. "It was a last-minute thing," said Moore, a third-year pro. "We look at the formation and see how they line up."

Moore, who has spent most of the season on the practice squad, was credited with two tackles and a team-high three quarterback hurries in the unofficial press-box starts.

HE SAID IT: "There's a closeness that really helped us get through all those tough times. I've definitely been on teams where, had we had as much adversity as we had through those first eight games, we would've been turning on each other." — linebacker Chris Draft.