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http://mmqb.si.com/2014/09/08/nfl-week-1-surprises-derek-anderson-panthers-dolphins/
Everything We Thought Was Wrong
A backup quarterback rescues Carolina. Miami's D rocks Tom Brady's Pats. The Saints can't stop Matt Ryan. The Eagles nearly implode. The one lesson from Week 1: The NFL is as unpredictable as ever. Plus weekly awards, the Fine 15 and 10 things I think
By Peter King
(To read the entire article click the link. Here are the comments about the Rams.......)
Zac Stacy and the Rams’ offense was shut down in a 34-6 loss to the Vikings on Sunday. (L.G. Patterson/AP)
The worst thing for the Rams: the looming schedule.
Of the 28 teams that have played so far this weekend, the Rams had the worst day. A disaster at quarterback—and whether Shaun Hill (a calf injury, no, a thigh injury) really was hurt enough to leave the game at halftime—was weird enough. But a 28-point loss at home to a team that won five games last year, and no offensive answers whatsoever, and a defense with eight first- or second-round picks on it giving up 6.2 yards per carry and 68% completions to Minnesota, was plain awful. The Rams did lead the league in something on Sunday: penalties. They committed 13. “Embarrassing,” linebacker James Laurinaitis called it.
The Rams look to have two weeks to do the unlikely, which is save their season. They play at Tampa Bay, which had a bad home loss to a backup quarterback Sunday, and then come home to face Dallas, which looked terrible Sunday. Then there’s a bye. Then there’s the toughest eight-game stretch any team has this year—or at least it looks the toughest. Seven 2013 playoff teams, and Arizona, which won 10 games. The roll call starting in Week 5: at Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, at Kansas City, at San Francisco, at Arizona, Denver, at San Diego.
Jeff Fisher certainly will stress to his team this week that it’s only one loss. His team is young and impressionable, and maybe they’ll buy the optimism. But St. Louis is a show-me NFL market anyway. The locals have bought into winning through the draft, and not even the loss of Sam Bradford for the second straight year with a knee injury should have made the team bottom out like this.
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Minnesota (1-0). I know the Rams could be a bottom-five team (could?), but that was a very impressive win by a team with so much to prove. Cordarrelle Patterson (102 rushing yards, of all things) is going to be an incredible weapon in the hands of offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
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Coaches of the Week
Mike Zimmer, head coach, Minnesota. You know how many times over the years—over the last three, four, five years at least—Mike Zimmer has entered a season and looked at some of the head coaches in the league and said to himself, “That should be me.” He finally gets his chance, and he passed his first test with greatness, a 34-6 pummeling of the Rams on the road.
Everything We Thought Was Wrong
A backup quarterback rescues Carolina. Miami's D rocks Tom Brady's Pats. The Saints can't stop Matt Ryan. The Eagles nearly implode. The one lesson from Week 1: The NFL is as unpredictable as ever. Plus weekly awards, the Fine 15 and 10 things I think
By Peter King
(To read the entire article click the link. Here are the comments about the Rams.......)
Zac Stacy and the Rams’ offense was shut down in a 34-6 loss to the Vikings on Sunday. (L.G. Patterson/AP)
The worst thing for the Rams: the looming schedule.
Of the 28 teams that have played so far this weekend, the Rams had the worst day. A disaster at quarterback—and whether Shaun Hill (a calf injury, no, a thigh injury) really was hurt enough to leave the game at halftime—was weird enough. But a 28-point loss at home to a team that won five games last year, and no offensive answers whatsoever, and a defense with eight first- or second-round picks on it giving up 6.2 yards per carry and 68% completions to Minnesota, was plain awful. The Rams did lead the league in something on Sunday: penalties. They committed 13. “Embarrassing,” linebacker James Laurinaitis called it.
The Rams look to have two weeks to do the unlikely, which is save their season. They play at Tampa Bay, which had a bad home loss to a backup quarterback Sunday, and then come home to face Dallas, which looked terrible Sunday. Then there’s a bye. Then there’s the toughest eight-game stretch any team has this year—or at least it looks the toughest. Seven 2013 playoff teams, and Arizona, which won 10 games. The roll call starting in Week 5: at Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, at Kansas City, at San Francisco, at Arizona, Denver, at San Diego.
Jeff Fisher certainly will stress to his team this week that it’s only one loss. His team is young and impressionable, and maybe they’ll buy the optimism. But St. Louis is a show-me NFL market anyway. The locals have bought into winning through the draft, and not even the loss of Sam Bradford for the second straight year with a knee injury should have made the team bottom out like this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota (1-0). I know the Rams could be a bottom-five team (could?), but that was a very impressive win by a team with so much to prove. Cordarrelle Patterson (102 rushing yards, of all things) is going to be an incredible weapon in the hands of offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coaches of the Week
Mike Zimmer, head coach, Minnesota. You know how many times over the years—over the last three, four, five years at least—Mike Zimmer has entered a season and looked at some of the head coaches in the league and said to himself, “That should be me.” He finally gets his chance, and he passed his first test with greatness, a 34-6 pummeling of the Rams on the road.