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Rams embarrassed, frustrated by opener
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11426/rams-embarrassed-frustrated-by-opener
ST. LOUIS -- Inside a quiet and somber St. Louis Rams locker room after a demoralizing 34-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, there were no excuses to be found. There was no sunshine and lollipops were not readily available.
This was a locker room that looked every bit like one that came up on the wrong side of a tail whipping. They had just been thoroughly beaten by the Vikings and they heard all of the boos that rained down as they left the field.
"It’s very frustrating," end Chris Long said. "Frustration is putting it lightly. I know everybody watching is frustrated. You can multiply that by about 10, 100, whatever you want to do. That’s how frustrated people are in this locker room."
Frustration was but one candidate for the word of the day, a word shared by every Rams fan entering the season opener with the hope of a new season and the disappointment of another egg left on the Edward Jones Dome turf.
Another was embarrassment.
“It is embarrassing," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "We put a lot of work into this preseason, and we have a great week of practice. To come out here and play the way we did in front of the home crowd for the opener is embarrassing.”
Taking stock of what happened, those are probably the appropriate feelings for what took place Sunday afternoon.
The final yardage totals were a bit misleading but this game was every bit as lopsided as the score. The Vikings out gained the Rams 346 to 318 but 109 of those Rams yards came on the final two possessions with the game out of hand.
But there was ample evidence elsewhere for why the Rams and their fans were feeling how they felt after the game.
First, the Rams continue to be one of the most penalized teams in the league, racking up 13 infractions for 121 yards, a continuation of a common theme from the first two years of coach Jeff Fisher's time in St. Louis in which the Rams have more combined penalties than any team in the league.
The Rams visited the red zone just once, advancing as far as Minnesota's 16 on the game's final possession before a -- wait for it -- penalty and a missed exchange on a snap left them with a field goal.
In the turnover battle, the Rams had a pair of costly interceptions. One from veteran Shaun Hill led to the Vikings first touchdown late in the first half and Austin Davis cut out the middle man when he hit Minnesota safety Harrison Smith in stride as Smith returned it 81 yards for a touchdown.
Defensively, the Rams couldn't create any turnovers and though they did a good job against running back Adrian Peterson, caved in when Cordarrelle Patterson ran 67 yards for a touchdown on his way to becoming the first Vikings receiver with 100 yards or more rushing in a game.
It was a complete collapse with little redeeming value and it will certainly test the mettle of this team moving forward.
"It’s always concerning when you lose a game and you’re not competitive in it," Long said. "We were competitive for awhile there but things get out of hand and the wheels fall off. I have been in a lot of crappy football games and that was one of them. I have seen worse, I’ve been a part of worse obviously.
"That doesn’t make it any better but I do know that we can turn things around. That’s one week. As far as I know there are 15 more weeks at least. We have got one day to be pissed off and we’ll be really pissed off for a day but we’ll be focused tomorrow."
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11426/rams-embarrassed-frustrated-by-opener
ST. LOUIS -- Inside a quiet and somber St. Louis Rams locker room after a demoralizing 34-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, there were no excuses to be found. There was no sunshine and lollipops were not readily available.
This was a locker room that looked every bit like one that came up on the wrong side of a tail whipping. They had just been thoroughly beaten by the Vikings and they heard all of the boos that rained down as they left the field.
"It’s very frustrating," end Chris Long said. "Frustration is putting it lightly. I know everybody watching is frustrated. You can multiply that by about 10, 100, whatever you want to do. That’s how frustrated people are in this locker room."
Frustration was but one candidate for the word of the day, a word shared by every Rams fan entering the season opener with the hope of a new season and the disappointment of another egg left on the Edward Jones Dome turf.
Another was embarrassment.
“It is embarrassing," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "We put a lot of work into this preseason, and we have a great week of practice. To come out here and play the way we did in front of the home crowd for the opener is embarrassing.”
Taking stock of what happened, those are probably the appropriate feelings for what took place Sunday afternoon.
The final yardage totals were a bit misleading but this game was every bit as lopsided as the score. The Vikings out gained the Rams 346 to 318 but 109 of those Rams yards came on the final two possessions with the game out of hand.
But there was ample evidence elsewhere for why the Rams and their fans were feeling how they felt after the game.
First, the Rams continue to be one of the most penalized teams in the league, racking up 13 infractions for 121 yards, a continuation of a common theme from the first two years of coach Jeff Fisher's time in St. Louis in which the Rams have more combined penalties than any team in the league.
The Rams visited the red zone just once, advancing as far as Minnesota's 16 on the game's final possession before a -- wait for it -- penalty and a missed exchange on a snap left them with a field goal.
In the turnover battle, the Rams had a pair of costly interceptions. One from veteran Shaun Hill led to the Vikings first touchdown late in the first half and Austin Davis cut out the middle man when he hit Minnesota safety Harrison Smith in stride as Smith returned it 81 yards for a touchdown.
Defensively, the Rams couldn't create any turnovers and though they did a good job against running back Adrian Peterson, caved in when Cordarrelle Patterson ran 67 yards for a touchdown on his way to becoming the first Vikings receiver with 100 yards or more rushing in a game.
It was a complete collapse with little redeeming value and it will certainly test the mettle of this team moving forward.
"It’s always concerning when you lose a game and you’re not competitive in it," Long said. "We were competitive for awhile there but things get out of hand and the wheels fall off. I have been in a lot of crappy football games and that was one of them. I have seen worse, I’ve been a part of worse obviously.
"That doesn’t make it any better but I do know that we can turn things around. That’s one week. As far as I know there are 15 more weeks at least. We have got one day to be pissed off and we’ll be really pissed off for a day but we’ll be focused tomorrow."
