First, you could blame the loss on the defense. The Rams strength in 2003 was their defense. In 2004, the defense look soft throughout most of the game. The Panther's racked up 216 yards on 41 rushes. The Panthers average 5.3 yards per rush and QB Delhomme was the only Panther without positive yards. As if that wasn't enough, the Panther's QB looked like anything but a rookie as he completed 16 of 27 passes for 290 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interceptions. Yes, we could blame the D.

But we could blame other Rams, too. Let's blame head coach Mike Martz who squandered a chance to win the game but running about 35 seconds off the clock to settle on a game-tying field goal. I saw squandered because the Rams had first down at the 15-yard line with 1 timeout in their pocket. (By the way, don't blame Martz for wasting timeouts. When the Rams need one, they had one!). Instead of trying...anything..., Martz let the clock run down and Wilkins hit a gimme field goal (a 33-yarder) and Martz was ready to stake his fate on a coin flip. He was very wrong to do so. The Panthers drove 41-yards and lined up for a field goal to win the game. Martz was bailed out of boiling hot water when John Kasay missed a 45-yarder. The defense let him down but a miracle saved him. Bad move, Mike.

We could also blame Marc Bulger. His three interceptions doomed the Rams and his lackluster performance influenced Martz to go conservative. If Marc could avoid one of the interceptions....

Why not blame Torry Holt. This all-pro receiver dropped a sure touchdown pass as he beat the coverage. In a field goal kicker's dream game, a touchdown by Torry could have been the difference. If that's not enough, Torry could have prevented one of Bulger's INTs by outwrestling Ricky Manning for a pass. Yes, I could put some blame on Torry.

Yes, a lot of blame could be passed out amongst the Rams.

Or you could simply blame none of the Rams. I say we blame the Panthers for coming to Saint Louis and kicking our butts in our house in front of us. Yes, I think that is where the blame solely lies. Yes, I blame those darn Panthers.

Not Blame, But Credit
I can also tell you who deserve not blame, but credit.

Give credit to Mike Martz for engineering an amazing comeback. In under three minutes, Martz's team put 11 points on the board. That my friends is the potential this offense has.

Give credit to field goal kicker Jeff Wilkins. Though he missed a 53-yarder which is asking a lot, Jeff was basically the Rams offense with field goals of 20, 26, 24, 51, and 33 yards. Making a 51-yarder is why Wilkins deserves a trip to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Give the fans credit. When the game was on the line, the fans screamed and yelled their hearts out. For six quarters, fans gave their all in support of the Saint Louis Rams. In overtime, it was especially tough when the Rams game up third down conversion after third down conversion (Don't forget that the Panthers scored on third and fourteen!). This did not stop the cheering but the Rams fans started again on the next first down. Yes, give credit to the fans.

Ram on,
Don, the Rams Nation columnist can be contacted at Don@RamsNation.org.