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