NEW: Rams at 49ers - 1st & 10 From the St. Lous Win

[STL-Rams]

Rams at 49ers: Sounding Off on the St. Louis Win

First and Ten

1st:

The NFL should be ashamad and appalled by the performance of referee Jerome Boger's officiating crew in the Rams 13-10 win over the 49ers. Throughout the game, it was a stuck-on-repeat disaster comprised of one questionable call after another.

Whatever the league is doing to help its officials operate optimally isn't working. Perhaps the evaluation process itself needs a review. It seems apparent that the performance of those who are paid to accurately assess and manage games is deteriorating.

At San Francisco, St. Louis had 14 points directly wiped off the board by two bogus calls.

First, 49ers running back Frank Gore was said to have his forward progress stopped when he was clearly still moving downfield when he fumbled a football that the Rams were running back for a touchdown. With the forward progress ruling being non-reviewable, the inexcuseable call cost St. Louis seven points.

Second, Rams punt returner Tavon Austin was ruled out of bounds on a runback that was destined to end in a score. Rather than letting the play finish, the play was stopped by a warrantless whistle. Had the officials not stopped the return, the play could have culminated and eventually been reviewed in an effort to get it right.

On Sunday, both teams suffered from a myriad of clumbsy calls by those who are supposed to ensure that contests are governed fairly with rules enforced with consistent accuracy. Is there anyone out there who would dare suggest with a straight face that this is currently occurring in the manner that it should be?

I'm not even sure that Roger Goodell could pull off that sales job.

And 10:

1. After a season-long hiatus, #SackCity returned with a vengence for St. Louis.

After entering the matchup with the 49ers last in the league in sacks at the season's midpoint, the Rams reeled off eight of them in week nine alone.

The aforementioned eight sacks were the most by a Rams road team since a 2000 duel against the Carolina Panthers. The team's six first half sacks were the most in a half in franchise history.

Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn -- who was held sackless in his first five games of the season's slate -- has posted five in the last three weeks, including two on Sunday.

For really the first time in 2014, the Gregg Williams led D looked like a Gregg Williams led D: it was aggressive, nasty, disruptive and productive. St. Louis can only hope this game was a harbinger of things to come.

2. Speaking of Williams' defense, one cannot say enough good things about how they performed in all phases against San Francisco.

Obviously, the pass pressure lived up to the lofty preseason expectations, but the work against the 49ers ground and air attack was pretty darn special, too.

(Hope you all will take a moment to enjoy the nine remaining points (including the future of Davis, the debut of Robinson at LT, the real Williams D, Tre Mason and much more including a question for you at the end of the column. Thanks, ROD):

http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/STLSports/STLRams/tabid/137/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/15255/Rams-at-49ers-Sounding-Off-on-the-St-Louis-Loss.aspx

 

[Alan]

Thanks Shane. Love that 1st and 10 format.

Remember when I asked you what you thought of the trade up for Tavon? Are you edging over to the dark side now?

"When factoring in his lack of production at wide receiver -- just 13 receptions this fall -- Austin is looking more like a mid round pick than a top ten selection."

 

[Prime Time]

Love the pic. Suitable for framing.

 

[Dagonet]

Shane, read it while listening to archives on insideSTL. Love the constructive criticism, yet praise you give. You're pretty much straight and to the point which is a breath of fresh air. Liked the opening on the officiating crew.

 

[STL-Rams]

Thanks Shane. Love that 1st and 10 format.

Remember when I asked you what you thought of the trade up for Tavon? Are you edging over to the dark side now?

"When factoring in his lack of production at wide receiver -- just 13 receptions this fall -- Austin is looking more like a mid round pick than a top ten selection."

Alan, thanks immensely for sharing that feedback on the 1st and 10 format. I was hoping to get some responses in that regard. I myself like it better and I hope most of the readers do as well.

As for Austin, it's a little tough to be overly optimistic with his future, although it does often take receivers until their third season to really "get it", as we saw illustrated well this year with Quick.

 

[Alan]

STL-Rams with his new format:
Alan, thanks immensely for sharing that feedback on the 1st and 10 format. I was hoping to get some responses in that regard. I myself like it better and I hope most of the readers do as well.

It puts you in a little bit of a box though. Now you have to come up with 10 things after every game and while that might not be hard some weeks, occasionally you'll not be able to find 10 interesting things. I don't think, judging by what I've read of you in the past it will be a big problem though but still...

Considering how many penalties we get you can always say 1st and 15 if you have extra stuff. I know I'd get the joke and so would others.

 

[STL-Rams]

Love the pic. Suitable for framing.

Yes it is! The thanks goes to InsideSTL, not me... I wish I could take credit, though. It is an outstanding image.

 

[STL-Rams]

Shane, read it while listening to archives on insideSTL. Love the constructive criticism, yet praise you give. You're pretty much straight and to the point which is a breath of fresh air. Liked the opening on the officiating crew.

Dagonet, big thanks on sharing the kind words and the detailed feedback. Glad you enjoyed the read. Keep in touch.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Great read Shane.
You're doing good things here.
It's refreshing to see reports on the Rams from writers that actually watch the games.

It's tough to even get an announcer to do some homework on our team before calling it.
It's seems that the only thing Lynch knew about the Rams Sunday, was that we only had 5 sacks. He had no insight on why. It seems to be a pattern amongst so called professionals.

Keep it up. We should begin to soon see your work being plagiarized.

 

[STL-Rams]

It puts you in a little bit of a box though. Now you have to come up with 10 things after every game and while that might not be hard some weeks, occasionally you'll not be able to find 10 interesting things. I don't think, judging by what I've read of you in the past it will be a big problem though but still...

Considering how many penalties we get you can always say 1st and 15 if you have extra stuff. I know I'd get the joke and so would others.

That is a great point, Alan. I think there are so many things that occur during a game, normally, that it should work well 95% of the time. 1st and 15 lol... very funny but I definitely DONT want to commit to 16 separate topics per game

 

[Fatbot]

I will join in on the praise for this article. Too often we see just horrible writing on the Rams out there, this is a breath of fresh air, thank you. I will of course disagree that GRob should be a guard, but even that informed dissent is worth reading.

 

[NukeRam]

Love the pic. Suitable for framing.

LOVE that smile on Robert's face! He's having some fun.

 

[Prime Time]

LOVE that smile on Robert's face! He's having some fun.

Along with Kaepernick's woeful expression that would make for a good caption thread.

 

[STL-Rams]

Great read Shane.
You're doing good things here.
It's refreshing to see reports on the Rams from writers that actually watch the games.

It's tough to even get an announcer to do some homework on our team before calling it.
It's seems that the only thing Lynch knew about the Rams Sunday, was that we only had 5 sacks. He had no insight on why. It seems to be a pattern amongst so called professionals.

Keep it up. We should begin to soon see your work being plagiarized.

Dodgersrf, these kind of posts make it all the more worthwhile. A simple thank you is not good enough. I continually try to do it better. Actually had a few edits and wording issues that I (and the editor missed), which bugs me... but sometimes that can happen.

 

[mr.stlouis]

Excellent job, Shane, I really enjoyed it. Just one thing...

You said something on the lines of them learning to close out games now will help them next fall.

We're two games out of the second WC spot with half the season to go. Wagoner and Bernie doomed the season before it ever started. It's something that caught my eye because many write this team off.

Some add-ons: Seems Williams sent a TON of blitzes up the middle early in the season. The results were the waters got muddy but never hit home. Yesterday Williams was attacking the edges like the Niners did to us the first game and the results were amazing. The OL spread a bit allowing Donald to consistently flush Kap. I know Robert Quinn appreciates his contribution.

ANY Chris Long updates would be greatly appreciated. How close is he? Just haveing him in on third a Long's (Tee-hee) would be huge if close to healthy.

Nice article

 

[Dodgersrf]

Dodgersrf, these kind

Dodgersrf, these kind of posts make it all the more worthwhile. A simple thank you is not good enough. I continually try to do it better. Actually had a few edits and wording issues that I (and the editor missed), which bugs me... but sometimes that can happen.

Do you ever watch Anthony Bourdain? Don't stress over a word. Just let em fly.
You

Dodgersrf, these kind of posts make it all the more worthwhile. A simple thank you is not good enough. I continually try to do it better. Actually had a few edits and wording issues that I (and the editor missed), which bugs me... but sometimes that can happen.

Well, there are a handful of Rams reporters that aren't "phoning it in".
You are one of them. It's greatly appreciated.

 

[STL-Rams]

I will join in on the praise for this article. Too often we see just horrible writing on the Rams out there, this is a breath of fresh air, thank you. I will of course disagree that GRob should be a guard, but even that informed dissent is worth reading.

Thank you, Fatbot. There are plenty who fall into both boats re: Greg Robinson - guard or tackle.

 

[STL-Rams]

Excellent job, Shane, I really enjoyed it. Just one thing...

You said something on the lines of them learning to close out games now will help them next fall.

We're two games out of the second WC spot with half the season to go. Wagoner and Bernie doomed the season before it ever started. It's something that caught my eye because many write this team off.

Some add-ons: Seems Williams sent a TON of blitzes up the middle early in the season. The results were the waters got muddy but never hit home. Yesterday Williams was attacking the edges like the Niners did to us the first game and the results were amazing. The OL spread a bit allowing Donald to consistently flush Kap. I know Robert Quinn appreciates his contribution.

ANY Chris Long updates would be greatly appreciated. How close is he? Just haveing him in on third a Long's (Tee-hee) would be huge if close to healthy.

Nice article

Thank you, Mr. St. Louis. Really appreciate that.

As for this season, as you said, the Rams are certainly still in the playoff hunt. I do, however, have my doubts that they will remain there. That said I would LOVE to be wrong. And considering that the Rams could easily be 5-3, there is a case to be made that this team is better than their record shows. I worry about the loss of Quick over the long-term, but am encouraged by the growth of the defense.

 

[Prime Time]

"The NFL should be ashamed and appalled by the performance of referee Jerome Boger's officiating crew in the Rams 13-10 win over the 49ers. Throughout the game, it was a stuck-on-repeat disaster comprised of one questionable call after another.

Whatever the league is doing to help its officials operate optimally isn't working. Perhaps the evaluation process itself needs a review. It seems apparent that the performance of those who are paid to accurately assess and manage games is deteriorating."

Maybe it's time to hire refs full-time and then hold them accountable by either suspending them without pay or firing them after a disastrous game like that.

Actually had a few edits and wording issues that I (and the editor missed), which bugs me... but sometimes that can happen.

I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to the English language, English being my second language and all. I'll be happy to edit anything you write for free.

 

[Alan]

Prime Time reveling in his job as a fox in the hen house:
I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to the English language, English being my second language and all. I'll be happy to edit anything you write for free.

http://www.mhmrcv.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=8877
How Common Is OCD?
"About 2.3 percent of the U.S. population ages 18 to 54—approximately 3.3 million Americans—has OCD in a given year."

I think that the percentage of people here at the ROD who "suffer" from that particular malady is close to 60% or so. I think I add about 5% of that total just by myself.