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Are the Rams ready for prime time?
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_080a1178-5843-5b19-8bd1-3c9dc4c6d429.html
The Rams don’t get much prime-time exposure, so there was only one way to go in preparation for their “Monday Night Football” appearance against San Francisco.
To the barber shop.
“Oh you gotta be fresh,” safety T.J. McDonald said. “You know you’re gonna get some TV time. The Colgate’s out, nice white teeth. Nice haircut.”
Offensive guard Rodger Saffold agreed.
“Fresh haircut,” Saffold said. “I’m not gonna say what I’m gonna wear just yet.”
Presumably, he was talking about what he’s wearing to the game, because we know he’ll be wearing a Rams uniform on the field.
“I’m trying to look real good,” Saffold added. “You’ve gotta look good on and off the field, and I just can’t wait to play.”
The Rams played the 49ers as well as anyone in the NFL in 2012, Jeff Fisher’s first year here as coach, with an overtime tie in San Francisco and an overtime victory at the Edward Jones Dome.
Things didn’t go so well last season, however, with an embarrassing 35-11 Thursday night loss in Game 4 in St. Louis followed by a 23-13 setback in Game 12 in San Francisco.
The 2014 Rams come into Monday night’s 7:30 p.m. matchup with a variety of perspectives from that last meeting in the Dome — the Thursday night humiliation.
Quarterback Austin Davis was somewhere between the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad and volunteer coaching at Westminster Christian Academy in suburban St. Louis at the time.
Did he watch it on TV?
“Nope,” Davis replied. “I don’t remember it.”
Probably a good thing given the nature of the bludgeoning, right?
Davis just smiled and let that one go.
A brief refresher course: The Rams were outgained 219 yards rushing to 18. San Francisco running back Frank Gore rushed for 153 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-1 play in the first half. In one of the worst performances of his career, quarterback Sam Bradford was battered, completing only 19 of 41 passes. And 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who won’t play tonight, was all but unblockable. He spent so much time in the St. Louis backfield, he might as well have put on a Rams jersey.
The normally unflappable Fisher was so upset by the loss, he made a brief statement at his postgame news conference, took two questions, then abruptly walked off.
It was insult and injury for safety T.J. McDonald, then a rookie, who suffered a fractured leg in the contest that would sideline him for two months.
“It could have been a sour taste if you want to call it that — the first (San Francisco) game or the second game,” McDonald said. “For us, I can’t say we look back at last season. Our goal is to win the game, no matter who we’re playing, what week it is, what happened last year or last week. We want to win this game.”
All but the newest Rams are very familiar with what it’ll take to topple the Niners. It’s a script that hasn’t changed much over the past few seasons. On defense, it’s all about containing Gore and keeping quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the pocket. On offense, it’s finding a way to run the football against that rock otherwise known as the 49ers’ front seven.
One last thing. As much as anything, if the Rams can’t hold their own in the trenches against the 49ers on both sides of the ball it will be another long, embarrassing night.
That’s it. Pretty basic, really. Playing the 49ers is not for the meek or half-hearted.
“We know these guys really well,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said during the practice week. “Quite frankly, I could go without watching film this week and know what San Fran’s gonna do. There’s a few different things in there, but when you watch film. you’re like, ‘Gosh, I’ve seen that story before.’ And they know us.”
So it’s as much a battle of will and execution as anything else. And make no mistake, regardless of all the reports and gossip about how the 49ers don’t want to play for Jim Harbaugh, or how Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke don’t get along, this is a team that plays with moxie, plays with toughness and is very resilient.
When asked during a conference call if the rumors were a distraction, Harbaugh replied: “No, that just seems like warmed up oatmeal to me.”
Apparently, the 49ers’ coach prefers his oatmeal cold.
As for the 49ers (3-2), they’re warming up after a sluggish start by their standards, defeating playoff contenders Philadelphia and Kansas City over the past two Sundays.
“It’s the same 49er team,” Fisher said. “They’re very, very good. They had a couple issues early on, but they’ve come back. ... We’ve had some interesting games against them here in just a couple years. We have to play, obviously, our best football.”
If the Rams are serious about making this a breakout season, it’s time to start winning. Tough schedule or not, if you want to start running with the big dogs, you have to start beating them.
“I think we need to show how far we’ve come,” Davis said. “Our record (1-3) is not what we want it to be, let’s not make any bones about it. But I think we’re better than that, and we need to show it.”
Well, this is the Show-Me State. Show us.
To do that, the Rams must minimize mistakes, cut down on penalties and make the 49ers earn whatever they get. No freebies on busted coverages, botched punt protection, or sack-fumbles allowed on the goal line.
“When you’re a great football team and a winning football team, you don’t say there’s five or six (bad) plays,” Laurinaitis said. “You say: ‘There’s one, there’s two, and we survived them.’ “
The sooner the Rams can get into survival mode, the better.
“We’re improving each and every week,” an upbeat defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Saturday.
Again, show us.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_080a1178-5843-5b19-8bd1-3c9dc4c6d429.html
The Rams don’t get much prime-time exposure, so there was only one way to go in preparation for their “Monday Night Football” appearance against San Francisco.
To the barber shop.
“Oh you gotta be fresh,” safety T.J. McDonald said. “You know you’re gonna get some TV time. The Colgate’s out, nice white teeth. Nice haircut.”
Offensive guard Rodger Saffold agreed.
“Fresh haircut,” Saffold said. “I’m not gonna say what I’m gonna wear just yet.”
Presumably, he was talking about what he’s wearing to the game, because we know he’ll be wearing a Rams uniform on the field.
“I’m trying to look real good,” Saffold added. “You’ve gotta look good on and off the field, and I just can’t wait to play.”
The Rams played the 49ers as well as anyone in the NFL in 2012, Jeff Fisher’s first year here as coach, with an overtime tie in San Francisco and an overtime victory at the Edward Jones Dome.
Things didn’t go so well last season, however, with an embarrassing 35-11 Thursday night loss in Game 4 in St. Louis followed by a 23-13 setback in Game 12 in San Francisco.
The 2014 Rams come into Monday night’s 7:30 p.m. matchup with a variety of perspectives from that last meeting in the Dome — the Thursday night humiliation.
Quarterback Austin Davis was somewhere between the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad and volunteer coaching at Westminster Christian Academy in suburban St. Louis at the time.
Did he watch it on TV?
“Nope,” Davis replied. “I don’t remember it.”
Probably a good thing given the nature of the bludgeoning, right?
Davis just smiled and let that one go.
A brief refresher course: The Rams were outgained 219 yards rushing to 18. San Francisco running back Frank Gore rushed for 153 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-1 play in the first half. In one of the worst performances of his career, quarterback Sam Bradford was battered, completing only 19 of 41 passes. And 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who won’t play tonight, was all but unblockable. He spent so much time in the St. Louis backfield, he might as well have put on a Rams jersey.
The normally unflappable Fisher was so upset by the loss, he made a brief statement at his postgame news conference, took two questions, then abruptly walked off.
It was insult and injury for safety T.J. McDonald, then a rookie, who suffered a fractured leg in the contest that would sideline him for two months.
“It could have been a sour taste if you want to call it that — the first (San Francisco) game or the second game,” McDonald said. “For us, I can’t say we look back at last season. Our goal is to win the game, no matter who we’re playing, what week it is, what happened last year or last week. We want to win this game.”
All but the newest Rams are very familiar with what it’ll take to topple the Niners. It’s a script that hasn’t changed much over the past few seasons. On defense, it’s all about containing Gore and keeping quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the pocket. On offense, it’s finding a way to run the football against that rock otherwise known as the 49ers’ front seven.
One last thing. As much as anything, if the Rams can’t hold their own in the trenches against the 49ers on both sides of the ball it will be another long, embarrassing night.
That’s it. Pretty basic, really. Playing the 49ers is not for the meek or half-hearted.
“We know these guys really well,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said during the practice week. “Quite frankly, I could go without watching film this week and know what San Fran’s gonna do. There’s a few different things in there, but when you watch film. you’re like, ‘Gosh, I’ve seen that story before.’ And they know us.”
So it’s as much a battle of will and execution as anything else. And make no mistake, regardless of all the reports and gossip about how the 49ers don’t want to play for Jim Harbaugh, or how Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke don’t get along, this is a team that plays with moxie, plays with toughness and is very resilient.
When asked during a conference call if the rumors were a distraction, Harbaugh replied: “No, that just seems like warmed up oatmeal to me.”
Apparently, the 49ers’ coach prefers his oatmeal cold.
As for the 49ers (3-2), they’re warming up after a sluggish start by their standards, defeating playoff contenders Philadelphia and Kansas City over the past two Sundays.
“It’s the same 49er team,” Fisher said. “They’re very, very good. They had a couple issues early on, but they’ve come back. ... We’ve had some interesting games against them here in just a couple years. We have to play, obviously, our best football.”
If the Rams are serious about making this a breakout season, it’s time to start winning. Tough schedule or not, if you want to start running with the big dogs, you have to start beating them.
“I think we need to show how far we’ve come,” Davis said. “Our record (1-3) is not what we want it to be, let’s not make any bones about it. But I think we’re better than that, and we need to show it.”
Well, this is the Show-Me State. Show us.
To do that, the Rams must minimize mistakes, cut down on penalties and make the 49ers earn whatever they get. No freebies on busted coverages, botched punt protection, or sack-fumbles allowed on the goal line.
“When you’re a great football team and a winning football team, you don’t say there’s five or six (bad) plays,” Laurinaitis said. “You say: ‘There’s one, there’s two, and we survived them.’ “
The sooner the Rams can get into survival mode, the better.
“We’re improving each and every week,” an upbeat defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Saturday.
Again, show us.