Well.. Well..Well...
By Rams Nation's Rudy Hiers
Fast forward to the present, and the 0-2 Rams are playing in a fog, 0-2 Pittsburgh
has been bracing for Bill Cowher’s impending mental breakdown, Dallas
isn’t even Texas’ team any longer let alone America’s, and
Rodney Peete has channeled the ghost of Sid Luckman.
Welcome folks to the Surreal Football League…
What in the great googly moogly has been going on?
Well for starters, Pittsburgh’s secondary has been atrocious. Opening
week, they were torched by Tom Brady for 280 yards and 3 TD’s, then they
settled down and let 897 year old Oakland QB Rich “the cannon” Gannon
complete 43 of 64 ( 64! ) passes for 403 yards in a 30-17 loss to the silver
& black.
Pittsburgh’s pass defense, which was ranked 4th overall in the entire
league last year while allowing 183 yards a game, now sits at 28th with the
Steelers allowing a gargantuan 324 yards per game through the air. There hasn’t
been that kind of damage done through the air, since the Luftwaffe had daily
non-stops to London.
Now combine those troubles with an offense that’s ranked 27th at the
moment and the fact that they are last in the league with a -7 turnover ratio,
and you have a recipe for 0-2 stew. And stewed is what Bill Cowher is ( Is it
just me, or has his face taken on a life of it own?... Run for your life kids!
It’s the attack of the killer jowls ) I hear the makers of Jim Carrey’s
the mask want to do a sequel with Cowher, this one titled “The Scowl”
Things appear much worse for Pittsburgh than it does for St Louis, because
let’s face it, Jerome Bettis although a warrior, appears to be very dinged
up and still fighting the effects of that groin injury suffered last year. His
primary back up Amos Zereoue has only tallied 117 carries for 529 yards since
1999, and Kordell Stewart is still, well, still Kordell Stewart.
As for the Rams, where do we start?
First off. Although I’ve been told that the Rams returned 10 starters
from the # 3 ranked NFL defense last year, I’m having a hard time believing
it so far. Was there a UFO sighting in Macomb this summer? Was there an invasion
of pod people? After watching this unit get lit up last week by the “Not”
hall of fame bound Kerry Collins, I want to grab Lovie by the shirt collar and
ask him “Who are you, and what have you done with Lovie!”
Besides the obvious problems i.e. No pass rush, weak pass coverage by the linebackers,
and poor tackling, they have been hampered by what has appeared to be very basic,
very vanilla, schemes. We’re certainly not calling for a return to the
Cal Tech style play calling of John Bunting and Peter Guinta, but hey, if you’re
not getting ANY pressure in standard 4 down lineman packages, mix it up and
throw in a blitz or two and make the opponent alter their protection schemes
for a couple of plays.
The Offense? Special Teams?
Oy Vey! Focus boys!! Focus!
Botched field goals, dropped passes, false starts negating TD’s, fumbled
QB snaps etc…
We know it’s getting close to Halloween, but this has been a horror show.
It’s like we’re watching “I know what you did all last season;
and you’re doing it again!”
For all their constant bumbling and stumbling, the Rams actually have been
much closer to winning their first two games of the season than most people
realize. It’s been that close.
Of course, they cannot take solace in the fact that they’ve lost by only
5 and 7 points respectively, despite shooting themselves in the foot every step
of the way, because despite the obligatory “it’s not whether you
win or lose, it’s how you play the game” blarney our youth coaches
told us when we were young, we all know it’s all about the scoreboard
baby!
The 0-2 start has the fans mystified, the media smelling blood, and every “expert”
from here to Outer Mongolia screaming “blueprint” “They’ve
discovered the blueprint!” Well excuse me, but blueprint my aunt fanny!
Applying as much pressure on the opposing QB as you can with the least amount
of personnel, is not some sort of revelation. Being as physical as you can with
the opponent, hoping to force mistakes, isn’t some game changing epiphany,
it’s classic defensive football. These “experts” though, would
have you believe that certain coaches have just come up with the theorem.
The difference between winning and losing at the NFL level, is as razor thin
as the space between bumpers during the Daytona 500, and the Rams the last two
games, have simply made too many mistakes and have eliminated all margin for
error.
Are we worried here at the card? No, not really… I’ve seen so many
things happen in the course of a Ram season by this point, that nothing surprises
me. I can easily see the Rams ripping off 11-12 wins in a row, just as easily
as I can see them miss the playoffs.
There is one thing that gives me tremendous faith in this team though, and
that’s the personnel on it’s roster. From top to bottom in my opinion,
it still possesses the most veteran talent in the NFL, and I feel that is what
is going to come to the forefront the rest of the season
My gut feelings?
Well, for starters, I believe the Rams will begin to the process of righting
the listing ship come Monday night at Raymond James, and yes, I believe the
Rams still win the NFC West.
Once that’s done, I still see them being able to match up with anyone,
anytime, anywhere.
Put away all the black armbands.
Call off that wake.
Save those funeral dirges for someone else.
The 2002 Ram season is about to begin…
Questions and Comments to thound1@yahoo.com