Big stars are failing the Rams

By Bernie Miklasz

Considering the huge financial investments the Rams have made in their contracts, running back Steven Jackson and quarterback Marc Bulger continue to come up short with the game on the line.

They are supposed to be two of the Rams’ key franchises pieces, right?

Then again, maybe that explains why the team is 2-12 this season and has the league’s worst record (5-25) since the beginning of the 2007 season.

First, Bulger:

The Rams have suffered three close losses this season, going down by 7 points at New England, 4 points to Miami, and 3 points on Sunday to Seattle.

Obviously victories were there, waiting to be claimed. The winning QBs make plays to get that done. It’s not an easy job, but that’s why many veteran starting QBs make the big money. Bulger included.

And here’s what Bulger has done in the second half of the three narrow losses:

56 attempts

28 completions

298 yards

0 TDs

4 INTs

That computes to a quarterback rating of 36.1

In the fourth quarter of those losses, it’s even worse. Bulger has connected on only 17 of 37 passes (45.9 %) for 131 yards and three INTs with no TDs for a passer rating of 21.3.

That’s right: a QB rating of 21.3 when it’s late and close and tight.

That’s remarkably poor. I don’t know what else to say. Bulger hasn’t had the best protection or receivers or rushing attack or game plans, but the Rams had a chance to win all three games, and that usually comes down to your top guns making plays, making the save. And Bulger hasn’t delivered. (I should also point out that the pass rush wasn’t an issue in the Miami and Seattle losses; Bulger had time to deal).

Sunday against the Seahawks, the Rams were protecting a 20-13 lead and had two late possessions that could have sealed a victory. But the Rams offense couldn’t stay on the field. On the next-to-last drive, Bulger needed 9 yards on third down and threw a 7-yard pass to the tight end. What’s the point of that? After the punt the Seahawks drove for the tying (20-20) TD. Then on the final series, Bulger went back to pass three times, and all three throws failed to connect. After the punt, Seattle scooted downfield for the winning FG. With the game on the line, No. 2 Seattle QB Seneca Wallace made plays for his team. Wallace isn’t making Bulger money, but he made money plays late Sunday afternoon.

Now, onto Jackson…

A trend has emerged over the last two seasons, and especially this season:

When in the lineup, Jackson starts fast, but he isn’t a finisher.

Since the start of the 2007 season, Jackson has 1,170 yards rushing in the first half and 606 yards rushing in the second half of games. Now to be fair to Jackson, those numbers are misleading on the surface because the Rams have trailed in so many games. They must throw the ball in the second half. But that said, he’s averaging 4.6 yards per carry in the first half, and 3.4 yards per carry in the second half.

This season, Jackson has rushed 118 times for 502 yards in the first half (4.2 per rush). And he has 74 carries for 272 yards (3.6 per rush) in the second half.

It’s more glaring in the fourth quarter of games this season; Jackson has 75 yards on 27 rushes for an average of only 2.7 yards per carry. Wow.

The real conversation starter is this: will Jackson ever be able to hold up as a feature back?

Can he go strong to the finish line?

Or will he continue to crawl to the finish line?

The Rams last two home losses were close. The 16-12 loss to the Dolphins and the 23-20 setback to the Seahawks were crying out for a Rams’ leader to take charge. Jackson is supposed to be a game-changing, franchise-altering back. A dominator. But against the Dolphins and Seahawks, Jackson faded in the fourth quarter.

Against Miami, though Jackson rushed for 94 yards overall, he had one fourth-quarter carry.

Against Seattle, though Jackson rushed for 91 yards overall, he had 4 carries for 5 yards in the fourth quarter.

In the Miami game, Jackson either pulled himself from the game (coach Jim Haslett’s original version) or was pulled from the game by the coaches (Jackson’s version) due to lingering stiffness from a thigh injury. To this day, the reason for Jackson being on the sideline still isn’t clear. No one will say whether he begged out, or if the coaches yanked him as a precautionary measure.

Sunday against Seattle, Haslett described Jackson as “lightheaded” late in the game. Haslett said the doctors told him that Jackson wasn’t cleared to play. That’s why Jackson wasn’t on the field for the first two plays of the Rams’ final possession when the Rams had a chance to put the Seahawks away. He entered on third down, to serve as a decoy. But the Rams went 3-and-out and punted. Jackson hinted after the game that he wanted to be on the field but wasn’t allowed to enter the game.

I don’t doubt that Jackson wants to play.

But again, this comes down to durability and stamina.

The great backs are as strong, fresh and effective in the fourth quarter as they are in the first quarter. Some of the Hall of Fame RBs even seemed to get better as the game went on; Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith come to mind.

Jackson is a very talented back. But this is his fifth NFL season, and Jackson is already into his second big contract. The Rams are still waiting for him to be the kind of back who takes over games, and Jackson still isn’t close to making that happen.

Ironies aplenty in Arizona win over Rams

By Jeff Gordon

STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST

12/07/2008

In an embarrassing season marked by ritual humiliations, the Rams suffered further indignity Sunday.

They literally handed the Arizona Cardinals the NFC West title with another mistake-prone performance.

Losing to the Cardinals was nothing new. Our Town’s old team, still owned by William V. (For Victory) Bidwill, spanked the Rams 34-13 earlier this season at The Ed.

Coming into this “showdown,” Arizona had won its previous four games against the Rams by a combined 150-83 score.

This time, though, the stakes were greater. Their 34-10 victory vaulted the Cardinals back into the NFL playoffs.

The Gridbirds (8-5) clinched their first division crown since 1975. They shook off gruesome losses to Philadelphia and the New York Giants and got back to enjoying their breakthrough season.

Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, the old Rams hero, continued his MVP quest at the expense of his old team. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown.

He put receivers Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston to work, along with speedy running back Tim Hightower. This isn’t quite the “Greatest Show on Turf,” but it’s better than any football the Valley of the Sun had seen before.

The Cardinals stormed to a 20-7 lead at the half and 27-7 after three quarters. This was never much of a game, obviously.

The Rams, now 2-11, made huge blunders on both sides of the ball. And place-kicker Josh Brown contributed a missed field goal at the worst possible time.

“I thought the missed field goal started all this stuff, a chip shot for him,” Rams interim head coach Jim Haslett told Rams Radio. “The offense moved the ball well, we just have to capitalize. We can’t turn the ball over.”

Running back Steven Jackson fumbled twice, killing a would-be scoring drive with the first and handing the Cardinals a TD with the second. Jackson proved the Rams are just as bad with him as without him.

Marc Bulger did his part, too, getting intercepted late for a touchdown -– a 99-yard romp by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The pass was supposed to go to Torry Holt in the end zone, but, hey, bad things happen to bad teams.

“Three turnovers and a missed field goal – to me, that is another turnover – is a killer,” Haslett grumbled. “The defense, after the first drive, settled down and played pretty good.”

The sole Rams touchdown came on a 6-yard “drive” after cornerback Ron Bartell intercepted a Warner pass and nearly ran it all the way back. Otherwise, the visitors didn’t get much done.

So this became a day of celebration in Glendale, one shared by former Cardinal greats like Jim Hart and a house full of long-suffering fans.

This celebration could have belonged to the Rams. They could have exploited the weak division this year and returned to the playoffs.

But for a host of reasons -– some out of their control, most within their control -– they failed horribly.

Theoretically, Haslett could extend his stay by beating division also-rans Seattle and San Francisco at home. Pragmatically, though, co-owner Chip Rosenbloom must order a complete overhaul of the football operation and get new eyes looking at all the problems.

Dramatic franchise turnarounds are possible in the NFL. In fact, they happen all the time.

Just ask the Arizona Cardinals, the champions of the NFC West.

Hopes of upset dashed

By Jim Thomas

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Monday, Dec. 01 2008

It wasn't a blowout. It wasn't an embarrassment. But for the sixth Sunday in a
row, it was a loss.

Any hope of a Rams upset victory Sunday vanished when wide receiver Derek
Stanley couldn't catch up with Marc Bulger's deep ball. Dolphins cornerback
Andre' Goodman could, however. Goodman's interception at the Miami 10 with 35
seconds to go preserved a 16-12 victory for Miami (7-5) at the Edward Jones
Dome.

As a result, the Rams (2-10) "clinched" their sixth season of double-digit
losses in 14 seasons in St. Louis — and the third in the past four years.

This was a day when the Rams did a lot of things right. In one of its best
performances of the season, the defense yielded only one touchdown, forcing
three Dan Carpenter field goals by the Dolphins.

The maligned Rams offensive line allowed no sacks for the first time this
season, keeping NFL sack leader Joey Porter quiet. On the ground, they blocked
their way to 129 yards rushing, the

third-best total this season.

And that was with center Brett Romberg making just his second start of 2008,
left tackle Orlando Pace gutting it out on a bad right knee and rookie John
Greco playing most of the second half at right guard because of lightheadedness
by Richie Incognito.

The offense received a big boost from the return of running back Steven
Jackson, who rushed for 94 yards on 21 carries and had a 16-yard reception.

But the improved execution brought the same old result. Bulger threw three
interceptions in the final 17½ minutes of the game. And once again, the Rams
couldn't get anything done in the red zone.

There was a little bit of controversy as well, with Jackson getting only one
carry in the fourth quarter. And some questionable strategy, with coach Jim
Haslett opting not to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the St. Louis 40 with 4:43
to go.

"He was gassed, and his leg had started bothering him," Haslett said of
Jackson's late-game disappearing act. "We told him before the game — 'Go as far
as you can go. We'll play these other guys.' That's basically what happened."

Afterward, Jackson begged to differ.

"No, I wasn't gassed," Jackson said. "I had 21 carries, and I felt great. So it
wasn't my conditioning. I wish he would stop saying that."

The Dolphins controlled the ball for almost nine minutes in the final quarter,
and the Rams were in their 2-minute offense on their final two possessions,
situations where they planned to use Kenneth Darby going into the game. Still,
it might have been tempting to use Jackson on that fourth-and-1 play — except
Haslett wasn't tempted.

"No, because we had the three timeouts," Haslett said. "I thought we could get
the ball back. That's basically why we (punted). We felt we could stop 'em; we
were playing good enough on defense that we could get the ball back."

But by the time the Rams got the ball back, Miami had gained two first downs,
the Rams had expended all their timeouts and only 1:50 remained on the clock.
Taking over on their 25, the Rams managed one first down and reached their 47
before Bulger's deep ball was intercepted by Goodman. Stanley was maybe a step
and a half away from making a legitimate play on the ball.

"I couldn't feel exactly where their defender was," Stanley said. "I knew he
was close to me, but I felt like I was going to lay out and dive for that ball
and maybe catch it. But he had better position than me, and he made a great
play. … So for that, I feel like I kind of let (the team) down a little bit,
not making that play."

In terms of letdowns, the same could be said for Bulger's first two
interceptions.

"The first one, I didn't see (the defender)," Bulger said. "The second one, I
was throwing to Anthony (Becht); I just didn't get enough on the ball."

The sequence surrounding the first interception was a microcosm of the Rams'
season. St. Louis had a nice drive going in the third quarter when Bulger
completed a 17-yard pass to Torry Holt to the Miami 14.

Much to Holt's chagrin, he was called for offensive pass interference, for
allegedly pushing off on the defender.

"I was just trying to get his hands off me," a frustrated Holt said.
(Television replays didn't show what happened.)

On the next play, Bulger's pass over the middle was intercepted by linebacker
Akin Ayodele, who jammed a receiver on the play, then peeled off to intercept
the pass intended for Jackson.

Two possessions later, with the Rams trailing 13-12, safety Renaldo Hill jammed
tight end Joe Klopfenstein over the middle, then peeled off to intercept the
pass intended for Becht.

The Dolphins converted that turnover into Carpenter's third field goal of the
day and a 16-12 lead, a key three points because it meant the Rams would have
to score a touchdown to win.

"The picks didn't really hurt us," Haslett said, unconvincingly. "The defense
did a great job. … But obviously, three interceptions are three interceptions.
Our problem is, we've got to score touchdowns."

Despite advancing to the Miami 5, 15 and 20 on separate drives, the Rams
managed only four Josh Brown field goals.

"You're not going to win kicking field goals in this league," Haslett said.