Ouch!
by Ram Nation's Don Ackerman
The final score was 31 to 13 with the Rams scoring their touchdown with 34 seconds
in the game. Jamie Martin, starting QB for the Rams threw two touchdown passes
- one to 49er Jason Webster and one to Ram Lamar Gordon. The Rams were shut down
to 88 yards rushing and Martin threw 2 interceptions. Again, the offense was out
of sync and the D was run over allowing 179 yards rushing. The scoreboard could
be changed to read "49ers Whoopin', Rams Ouch." It was ugly and the
49ers walked away walking tall and the Rams can only wonder what happened.
After a 31 to 13 drumming and dropping to 0 and 5, the Rams have a very loooong
road to the playoffs. In case you hadn't heard, no 0 and 5 team has ever made
the playoffs. Honestly, I'm tired of hearing these "statistics." Before
the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV in 1999, no dome team (a team that plays its home
games in a dome stadium) had ever won a Super Bowl. Despite 4 losses, until
I witnessed the surgery Sunday, I was not concerned about such statistics. Now,
I'm a bit worried. The Rams are thus far unable to put it together and I feel
like I'm watching an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Before the beating, I thought the Rams would rebound after the disappointing
loss to Dallas. For the 4th straight week, the Rams played a decent game and
had a chance to win. I figured after 4 weeks of things going wrong, the Rams
would rise to the occasion of facing the hated 49ers. After all, pride would
take over! Right?
Well, instead of taking it to the 49ers, the 49ers took it to the Rams. In
fact, it looked like the 49ers might have shown Martz what "Max Q"
looks like. After giving up a nice opening drive by the Rams to start the game,
the 49ers locked down and put a hurting on Saint Louis. For me, the 9-play,
60-yard drive looked like (dare I say, vintage?) Rams. But then came the "ouch."
Unfazed by the Rams opening drive, San Fran put together a 62-yard drive to
tie the score. Then, it started. The Niners took the 2 possessions 71 yards
and 96 yards for touchdowns. Things were starting to get ugly and Martin was
starting to play desperate. It was ouch for me seeing Martin come in last week
and with no prep time, look pretty good against a strong Dallas D. With one
week to prep, I was excited to see a stronger Martin play a great game. Instead,
he ended up 23 for 40 (that's 57.5%).
Some Hope
As mentioned, the O looked bad and they were matched by the lackluster play
by the D. Surprisingly, Special Teams started to shine a bit. Terrance Wilkins
showed some great moves breaking open a 42-yard kickoff return. I have to make
him co-MVP of the game with 6 returns for 169 yards (that's just over 28 yard
a return! I'll take that!). In the 49er landslide, Wilkins probably kept the
Rams from really getting buried and gave the offense a chance to get something
going.
Wilkins co-MVPs would have to be Marshall Faulk and Lamar Gordon. Marshall
put up predictably good numbers: 73 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving. Unfortunately,
he "tweaked" his back and had to leave the game. In stepped Superman
Junior, Lamar Gordon who scored the lone Rams touchdown and looked Marshall-esque
with 15 yards rushing and 51 yards receiving. He showed some life in an otherwise
lifeless game. With Faulk and Gordon in the backfield, I don't see any reason
to be concerned about the Rams running game.
What's Next?
Before the season, our next game, Rams versus Raiders, looked to a potential
battle of the undefeated. Well, the Raiders kept their end of the bargain. For
the Rams, the future is now - a win is critical. If nothing else motivates the
Rams, can you at least win one for the Rampagers? It's Bash behind in Saint
Louis on October 13th. I hope to see many of you Rams fans there.
Ram on,
Don