Warner's 4 Interceptions Kill Saint Louis' Chances to
Win
By Rams Nation's Don Ackerman
When you're done watching, come on back and I'll share my view of the
game...
Good Start!
Monday night, the Saint Louis Rams offense started off strong! After Tampa
Bay scored a field goal, the offense took their opening drive 91 yards in 9
plays. It was beautiful to see and I really wanted to see it again. It was the
Rams we love: Kurt Warner was strong and bouncing around the pocket, Conwell
caught a pass for 14 yards, Holt caught 2 pass for 41 yards, and Faulk was showcased
a bit running 4 times for 13 yards (including a touchdown) and catching one
pass for 26 yards (including recovering his own fumble on the play). It looked
like the best 0-and-2 team in the NFL was back! But the Rams team, which had
already earned 2 losses, returned. After that stellar start, the Rams slowed
down and the Tampa D, led by Warren Sapp, took a hold of the game for the 3
plus remaining quarters.
...Then the Bad Quarters...
As I mentioned earlier, the 2nd and 3rd quarters were not pretty. As badly
as they played, the Rams D did play the Bucs tough and kept the Rams in the
game. It was hard watching the Rams offense struggle to put it together.
Glimmers of Hope
The Rams did give us all a glimmer of hope. Though thoroughly outplayed, the
Rams had a chance to win this game! It started with Tampa trying to convert
a 2-point conversion after extending the lead to 19 to 7. The D foiled their
passing attempt and looked to the offense to give them a chance.
The O responded. It took some gusto to drive 86 yards (starting on the 14)
on 11 plays to cut the Tampa Bay lead to 5. After watching that, I believe we
had this game. I was having a hard time believing that the Rams could win a
game based on 3 good drives! Are you serious? That just shows me how good this
team can be!
Back to the D, they are the reason this game was winnable. They held the Buccaneers
to 199 yards passing and 63 yards rushing. Now the Buc's didn't need to do much:
The Tampa defense was busy picking Kurt Warner's pocket and giving the Buc's
the victory if the Rams couldn't take it away. Despite the loss, the D each
week is giving the team a chance to win trying to compensate for the offense's
futility and the offense's turnovers this year.
On the individual side of things, Lamar Gordon showed some fire and drive scoring
his first NFL touchdown (welcome, Lamar!) and accumulating 44 yards on only
4 carries. Mitch Berger, the free agent pickup from Minnesota, earned his paycheck
with 5 punts. After he punted his 4th time, the announcers brought it up and
I was hoping we were done seeing him in the game (we weren't). Though he's great,
I still hope that Berger gets limited future action because the Rams return
to their scoring ways. Aeneas Williams again shows us how good he is taking
the ball away from Keenan McCardell midway through the 3rd quarter. I love his
play as he personally gives the Rams a chance to take home the W each week.
Thank you Aeneas!
Looking Ahead
Well, now the Dallas game is big. The Cowboys no doubt are stinging after the
Philadelphia Eagles shell-shocked them 44 to 13. They will be hungry but hopefully
the Rams will be hungrier for a win. That should be a good one to watch and
could determine what happens this 2002 NFL season.
Well, it's early Tuesday morning and I've thought enough about this game. Check
back later this week as I'll post more thoughts about this 0 and 3 start.
Ram on,
Don