RamView : From The Couch
By Rams Nation's Mike Franke
Position by position:
QB: Wow, there?s no middle ground with Marc Bulger, is there?
Marc looked like he was back as he marched the Rams out to a 14-0 lead, hitting
his first 7 passes, including a beautiful 38-yard pass to Torry Holt and a laser
to Isaac Bruce in the end zone for the Rams? 2nd TD. But just when the Rams
are ready to put this one in cruise control, Bulger falls completely apart.
A forced end zone bomb for Holt became a David Barrett interception and led
to 3 Big Dead points. Next possession, it?s even worse, as Bulger chucks one
up for Brandon Manumaleuna without even looking over there, and Renaldo Hill
picks it and returns it for a TD. 14-10 now, though Bulger engineered a quick
FG drive in the last 2:00 to make it 17-10 at the break. The Rams are up 24-17
in the 4th when he starts handing out gifts again. A pass too high for Bruce
became Hill?s 2nd pick and led to a game-tying TD. And Marc didn?t exactly respond
to that challenge. A Big Dead blitz got through, he didn?t put the
ball away and fumbled, leading to another enemy FG. That?s 20 points Bulger
gave away today on turnovers, not to mention a fourth interception, on the next
drive. On that play, Bulger panicked when he didn?t have to and threw a bad
ball off his back foot. With only 3:23 left, it?s too late in the game to bring
in Kurt Warner, so it was up to Bulger to get it together and rally the Rams
back. Which he did. Clutch passes to Holt for 13 on 3rd-and-7, for 16 on 3rd-and-15
and for 23 on 4TH-AND-7 got the Rams up close for Jeff Wilkins? game-tying FG.
Bulger went back to work in overtime, hitting Bruce for 21, Marshall Faulk for
8, getting a big 18-yard scramble into Big Dead territory, and hitting Dane Looker for a key 8-yard gain to set up Wilkins? 49-yard game winner. Marc sandwiched
about a quarter-plus of good play around about 3 quarters of hell today. He
ended up 28-44-329, but he HAS to serve up better stuff the rest of the way,
with Detroit the only lousy team left on this season?s menu.
RB: Marshall Faulk?s looking more and more like his old self,
even though his blocking today once again was not too great. Faulk made a lot
of runs like the one at the end of the first TD drive, breaking a tackle 4 yards
behind the line of scrimmage and turning it into a 10-yard gain. Marshall scored
on the next play behind a Cam Cleeland
block. He ended the day with 100 rushing yards, 133 total, and several key plays.
His 5-yard gain on a 3rd-and-1 inside handoff was a key play of the Rams? FG drive
at the end of the first half. He took another inside handoff in the last minute
of the game for 17 to make Wilkins? tying FG a chippie. That was one of Faulk?s
11 plays of 6 yards or more, as he looks ready to roll into the home stretch.
WR: Let?s get one thing clear right now. Torry Holt is a GOD.
He caught 9 for 145 today and was the biggest reason the Rams won. He set up the
first TD with a beautiful grab of a 38-yard pass where he was wide open for every
step of his deep post route. Isaac Bruce (7-99) turned his defender around twice
for a TD on the next play. But Torry was ?Big Game? again with three HUGE plays
in the last 2:00 of regulation. He caught a 13-yard pass on 3rd-and 7. With 1:40
left, Torry made a 16-yard grab on 3rd-and-15, dragging both feet in bounds nicely,
though it took the refs a while to figure that out. Holt made the biggest play
of the game about 50 seconds later, hauling in another sideline pass, this time
for 23, this time on FOURTH AND 7, again using great footwork to keep his team
alive. In overtime, Bruce had a 21-yard catch to get the offense going, but Dane
Looker?s clutch 8-yard catch got Wilkins close enough to kick the game winner.
Offensive line: Shades of last week?s Bears game, the Rams struggled
yet again to pick up the blitz and gave 4 sacks to a team that had just nine on
the season. Andy
McCollum completely blew his block to get Bulger killed for the first sack. With
the Dead blitzing in the 3rd, Kyle Turley ended up having to block two guys, and
Dennis
Johnson stormed in untouched for the 2nd sack. The third sack was Bulger?s fumble
in the 4th, again, a blitz not picked up. Bulger was sacked during the game-tying
FG
drive, too, as Turley half-heartedly stuck an arm out as blitzing James Darling
stormed right by him. The Big Dead picked up Ram blitzes all day, and it is confounding
that
the Rams? well-paid line doesn?t do better. Run blocking was better, in particular
the work of Dave Wohlabaugh and McCollum, but Faulk is getting hit behind the
line of
scrimmage way too often. Lighting a fire under these guys would fix many of this
offense?s problems.
Defensive line / LB: The defense made big plays, but lacked game-long
consistency and really under-performed today, registering no sacks, little good
pass pressure and allowing 166 rushing yards. But Jimmy Kennedy got things off
to a good start on the Big Dead?s first possession, getting his hand up to tip
a Jeff Blake pass to Pisa
Tinoisamoa to set up the Rams? first TD. The Big Dead drove inside the Ram 40
the next time they had the ball, but Bryce Fisher blew up a screen pass on 3rd-and-2
and the line stuffed a Marcel Shipp 4th-and-2 run to get another Ram TD drive
firing. They held the Big Dead to 3 after Bulger?s first pick, but mainly because
ex-Ram James
Hodgins, who had a blitz beaten badly, dropped a screen pass at the 4-yard line.
Things looked gloomy in the 3rd after an unrushed Blake hit Anquan Boldin for
39 on
3RD-AND-20 and Shipp blasted for 8 down to the 1. But. Adam Archuleta stopped
Shipp cold on 2nd-and-goal. Then Robert Thomas and Archuleta dropped Shipp for
a 2-yard loss on 3rd-and-goal. On 4th-and-goal, Grant Wistrom?s strong rush forced
an early throw for Freddie Jones, which Tommy Polley knocked out of his hands.
That stands as the key defensive sequence of the game, even though a lack of heat
on Blake helped allow a 55-yard game-tying Boldin TD. After Bulger?s
3rd INT, they couldn?t stop Shipp, who ground out 15 yards leading up to Boldin?s
2nd TD. The Dead had the ball up 27-24 after Bulger?s 4th pick, but that was Robert
Thomas? time to stand up. He stopped Shipp for a 5-yard loss on 1st down, and
on 3rd-and-long, he stopped Shipp for a 4-yard loss on a screen pass Brian Young
blew up with a big rush. Thomas? big plays were defining moments; he kept the
Big Dead from increasing their lead, and they would not see the ball again the
rest of this game. Thomas was the defensive star today.
Secondary: The Rams did a frustratingly-bad job dealing with
Anquan Boldin, who caught 6 for 123 and 2 TDs, but they still made big plays.
Aeneas Williams knocked down a 3rd-and-goal pass after Bulger?s first INT to force
a FG. Early in the 3rd, Wistrom?s huge pressure forced one of many stupid throws
from Jeff Blake (15-27-192), this one right to Travis Fisher, who cashed it in
with a 57-yard TD return to put the Rams up 24-10. That didn?t last long enough
thanks to horrible secondary play on the last play of the 3rd. Boldin broke a
bad tackle by Aeneas, and a horrible tackle attempt by Archuleta, who should know
enough to know you can?t wrap up a guy with YOUR SHOULDER, to prance for a 55-yard
TD. That left it to Fisher to make another big play, defending a lob to Boldin
at the goal line after Bulger?s fumble to hold the Big Dead to another FG. Again,
probably not a great game, but good enough.
Special teams: Jeff Wilkins was the star again, with 3 FGs, including
a 24-yarder to tie the game with time running out in regulation, and a solid 49-yarder
to win the
game in OT. Kickoff coverage wasn?t spectac-ular; they missed a lot of tackles
and usually let the Big Dead return across the 30. Sean Landeta wasn?t very effective
for
having 51 yards/kick. Two punts splashed down in the end zone, and he outkicked
the coverage to give up a 15-yard return by Boldin, leading up to his 55-yard
TD the next play.
Coaching/discipline: Dave McGinnis probably blew this game more
so than Mike Martz won it. McGinnis had a lot of success pounding Shipp in there,
but would inexplicably get away from it for Blake?s weak passing game. McGinnis
was especially enamored with screen passes even though the Rams ALWAYS had them
figured out. The most curious call wasn?t Martz?s direct snap to Faulk with only
a few seconds left. The Big Dead drove to the Ram 7 after Bulger?s fumble, but
on 3rd-and-1, they threw a timing pass to Boldin in the end zone instead of slamming
Shipp in there again. McGinnis and company seemed to have an awful feel about
when to run and
when to pass. The bad thing about the direct snap play was that it split Bulger
wide left, so far out of the action that the Rams had to sacrifice a 2nd shot
at the end zone
to set up the FG. But Martz said he was confident the defense would stop the Big
Dead in overtime if the gadget play didn?t work. He has really bolstered the defense
and
Wilkins this season by displaying confidence in them. Some of that confidence
may have been misplaced today, because the Big Dead repeatedly beat Lovie Smith?s
blitzes, so superhuman solo efforts by Wistrom were about the only times the Rams
got decent heat on Blake. Lovie?s defense was disappointing today, and Martz?s
offense sputtered badly for three quarters, so as they used to say around these
parts, ?Gotta go to work.?
Upon further review: There is defensive pass interference in
the NFL, not that Ron Blum and crew know it. Holt and Bruce were getting tackled
and mugged downfield all day without calls. Several times Big Dead DBs crashed
into Ram receivers? backs to make plays before the ball was there, and they were
never called. This includes Hill?s 2nd pick, which could easily have been called
pass interference. He?s entitled to the ball, but can he blast Bruce to the ground
first? The last 2:00 of regulation were a joke, as the booth challenged catches
where Holt?s feet were obviously in and didn?t challenge ?incompletions? called
despite Bruce clearly being in. Mike Martz was justifiably livid about today?s
officiating after the game, as this crew impossibly displayed less of a clue about
pass interference than any other crew this year. Pathetic.
Cheers: Today?s Fox crew was Chris Meyers and classic Big Dead
draft bust Kelly Stouffer (what, was Clyde Duncan unavailable?) Meyers was OK
as long as he didn?t try to pronounce ?Manumaleuna.? Stouffer nailed some stuff,
especially criticizing the Big Dead for not running when it was working, but he
was awful during clutch time, bizarrely claiming that NFL refs let pass interference
go on late in games and criticizing Dave McGinnis for not challenging a Manumaleuna
incompletion AFTER Blum got on the PA to explain it could not be challenged. Fox
showed how much they cared about this game by not even providing a sideline reporter.
But kudos to the Rams fans who showed up in full throat for today?s game. The
cheer that went up after Wilkins won it in OT was worthy of a home game.
Who?s next?: The Minnesota Vikings got back on the winning track,
but I don?t know that I?d count a 10-7 game at home against 2-8 Detroit, that
you needed two
interception TD returns to break open, as being on a roll of any kind. Next Sunday?s
game in the Dome is going to be all about turnovers (if you?d care to do anything
about that, Mr. Bulger) and stopping the other team?s top WR. Bulger may be a
turnover machine, but Dante Culpepper is no slouch, either. He fumbles a lot for
a big man, and he (like Bulger) will make really dumb throws under pressure, so
this is a good week to welcome Leonard Little back. Minnesota?s offense, which
should be potent with Culpepper, Michael Bennett and Randy Moss, is often thwarted
by inconsistent line play and turnovers. Needless to say, Culpepper?s favorite
play is to bomb for Moss and let him outjump the defender for it. Moss has hit
a dry spell lately, though, and the Rams can be successful against him by emphasizing
physical play, which Aeneas and Archuleta can certainly bring.
The Viking defense hasn?t stopped anything lately, especially on the ground, so
this would be a good week to make Faulk the centerpiece of the offense, especially
since he doesn?t turn the ball over. Holt and Bruce match up very favorably against
the Viking secondary, and God knows if Doug Flutie can pass on them, Bulger can,
but Minnesota has done a great job of getting interceptions this season, which
plays right into Bulger?s biggest weakness. This is a huge game Sunday, with playoff
implications, and the Rams can not afford Bulger?s recent amateurish play as far
as turnovers. Martz needs to establish Faulk and keep the pressure on Minnesota?s
secondary, so that same pressure is not on Bulger. The team that turns the ball
over the least seems certain to be the one that takes this critical game.
-- Mike
Game stats from nfl.com
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