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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_015c8282-4a1e-55d3-a4c8-135271aa07d8.html
Yes, the Rams have overcome long odds before against the New Orleans Saints.
Oct. 30, 2011 • Two days after the Cardinals won the World Series against the Texas Rangers, manager Tony La Russa was on the sidelines at the Edward Jones Dome wearing a Rams throwback jersey. Pitcher Chris Carpenter donned a Steven Jackson jersey. Just hours before a victory parade downtown, they brought the World Series trophy with them.
Maybe it all changed the karma, because the previously winless Rams (0-6) raced to a 17-0 halftime lead and defeated a New Orleans team that would finish the regular season with a 13-3 record.
After a night when he had trouble sleeping, running back Jackson addressed the team before the game.
“Pretty much what I said was if you’ve ever been in a fight and you’ve ever been hit with a punch, you only have two decisions, “ Jackson said after the 31-21 victory. “Either run from the person, the opponent. Or you just dig deep inside and find the will to keep swinging and keep fighting. ... So I challenged them. Not as football players. I challenged them as men.”
Jackson led the way with 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns. A.J. Feeley subbed for the injured Sam Bradford at quarterback. On defense, cornerback Josh Gordy recorded his first interception in his first NFL start. Safety Darian Stewart recorded his first NFL interception and returned it for his first NFL touchdown. Rookie Robert Quinn blocked a punt.
For New Orleans, running backs Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles were held in check as the Saints rushed for only 56 yards and 2.8 yards per carry. Drew Brees was sacked six times, the most sacks allowed by a Asshole Face team since he came to New Orleans in 2006. This was a Saints team, mind you, that had piled up 62 points and 557 yards of offense a week earlier against Indianapolis.
Nov. 11, 2007 • Coming off a bye week, the Rams were 0-8 and desperate when they entered the Louisiana Superdome to face a Saints team that had reached the NFC title game a year earlier.
During the week, the Rams changed the direction in which they practiced the victory formation in their indoor facility.
On the night before the game, veteran safety Corey Chavous addressed the team, telling his teammates to “just go back to playing football like you played it when you were a little kid. Not for the money. Just go out there and have fun.”
The Rams’ equipment staff even got into the act, visiting a voodoo “queen” that Saturday to try to end the hex.
The next day, quarterback Marc Bulger completed a career high 81.8 percent of his passes (27 of 33), despite playing behind his 25th different line combination as a Ram. Torry Holt topped 100 yards receiving. Isaac Bruce caught his first TD pass of the year. And Jackson threw a touchdown pass to tight end Randy McMichael as the Rams jumped to a 34-7 lead and coasted to a 37-29 victory.
The game ended with the Rams in the victory formation. Bulger took the football from that play and presented it to beleaguered coach Scott Linehan in the locker room on behalf of the team.
“I asked a couple of guys and they all agreed,” Bulger said at the time. “It was for sticking with us.”
Dec. 15, 2013 • So once again, here come the big, bad Saints for Sunday’s 3:25 p.m. kickoff at the Edward Jones Dome. They are 10-3. They are as good as ever on offense, and better than usual on defense. They can clinch a playoff berth with a victory, are in a dogfight with Carolina for the NFC South title, and are shooting for a first-round bye.
Who knows who will give speeches this weekend. Will anyone in the organization see a psychic or seek voodoo help? Maybe Mike Matheny and Adam Wainwright will show up, and bring the National League pennant with them.
At 5-8, the Rams’ record is much more respectable than it was in 2011 or ’07, but the team’s chances of winning appear just as remote as they did prior to those titanic upsets.
Offensively, the Saints have the NFL’s top receiving tight end in 2013, Jimmy Graham. They have the league’s top receiving running back over the last three seasons in Sproles. Pierre Thomas is still around, and so is Mark Ingram, who was injured in that 2011 contest. Say hello to the most productive wide receiver in franchise history in Marques Colston, who’s backed by a deep, talented wideout corps. Last but certainly not least is Brees, one of the greatest quarterbacks of this era.
The Rams, by the way, counter with the league’s youngest, most inexperienced secondaries. They may be missing one of their starters as well, with Janoris Jenkins questionable with a back injury.
In most seasons, the Saints on defense at least gave you hope. But this season, under the man who was almost Rams defensive coordinator — Rob Ryan — the Saints are sixth in total defense. They are tied for second in the league in sacks (with 43), and are allowing fewer than 200 yards a game passing.
The Rams, by the way, could be missing their top offensive (and special teams) playmaker in Tavon Austin, who is questionable with an ankle injury.
Jeff Fisher’s Rams frequently thrive under such underdog circumstances.
On Oct. 13, they walloped Houston 38-13 at Reliant Stadium before the Texans were officially declared an AFC disaster area.
On Oct. 28, in the first game for Kellen Clemens at quarterback in place of the injured Bradford, they pounded mighty Seattle everywhere but on the scoreboard in a 14-9 loss.
And after two tough losses under Clemens, they took the Luck out of Andrew, smashing Indianapolis 38-8 on Nov. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It’s difficult to imagine anything like that happening Sunday. Even if the Saints are a modest 3-3 on the road, this contest screams “bad matchup.” Even so, the Rams are conceding nothing.
“I think we’d all lie to you if we didn’t say this is a disappointing season,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “But we want the arrow pointing up at the end of the year, and we want to end on a positive note.
“You talk about a huge challenge. If you can’t get up to play the New Orleans Saints with Brees and all these guys ... then something’s not right in your DNA.”
The DNA may be right. The heart may be willing. But the Saints are, well, the Saints.
Yes, the Rams have overcome long odds before against the New Orleans Saints.
Oct. 30, 2011 • Two days after the Cardinals won the World Series against the Texas Rangers, manager Tony La Russa was on the sidelines at the Edward Jones Dome wearing a Rams throwback jersey. Pitcher Chris Carpenter donned a Steven Jackson jersey. Just hours before a victory parade downtown, they brought the World Series trophy with them.
Maybe it all changed the karma, because the previously winless Rams (0-6) raced to a 17-0 halftime lead and defeated a New Orleans team that would finish the regular season with a 13-3 record.
After a night when he had trouble sleeping, running back Jackson addressed the team before the game.
“Pretty much what I said was if you’ve ever been in a fight and you’ve ever been hit with a punch, you only have two decisions, “ Jackson said after the 31-21 victory. “Either run from the person, the opponent. Or you just dig deep inside and find the will to keep swinging and keep fighting. ... So I challenged them. Not as football players. I challenged them as men.”
Jackson led the way with 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns. A.J. Feeley subbed for the injured Sam Bradford at quarterback. On defense, cornerback Josh Gordy recorded his first interception in his first NFL start. Safety Darian Stewart recorded his first NFL interception and returned it for his first NFL touchdown. Rookie Robert Quinn blocked a punt.
For New Orleans, running backs Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles were held in check as the Saints rushed for only 56 yards and 2.8 yards per carry. Drew Brees was sacked six times, the most sacks allowed by a Asshole Face team since he came to New Orleans in 2006. This was a Saints team, mind you, that had piled up 62 points and 557 yards of offense a week earlier against Indianapolis.
Nov. 11, 2007 • Coming off a bye week, the Rams were 0-8 and desperate when they entered the Louisiana Superdome to face a Saints team that had reached the NFC title game a year earlier.
During the week, the Rams changed the direction in which they practiced the victory formation in their indoor facility.
On the night before the game, veteran safety Corey Chavous addressed the team, telling his teammates to “just go back to playing football like you played it when you were a little kid. Not for the money. Just go out there and have fun.”
The Rams’ equipment staff even got into the act, visiting a voodoo “queen” that Saturday to try to end the hex.
The next day, quarterback Marc Bulger completed a career high 81.8 percent of his passes (27 of 33), despite playing behind his 25th different line combination as a Ram. Torry Holt topped 100 yards receiving. Isaac Bruce caught his first TD pass of the year. And Jackson threw a touchdown pass to tight end Randy McMichael as the Rams jumped to a 34-7 lead and coasted to a 37-29 victory.
The game ended with the Rams in the victory formation. Bulger took the football from that play and presented it to beleaguered coach Scott Linehan in the locker room on behalf of the team.
“I asked a couple of guys and they all agreed,” Bulger said at the time. “It was for sticking with us.”
Dec. 15, 2013 • So once again, here come the big, bad Saints for Sunday’s 3:25 p.m. kickoff at the Edward Jones Dome. They are 10-3. They are as good as ever on offense, and better than usual on defense. They can clinch a playoff berth with a victory, are in a dogfight with Carolina for the NFC South title, and are shooting for a first-round bye.
Who knows who will give speeches this weekend. Will anyone in the organization see a psychic or seek voodoo help? Maybe Mike Matheny and Adam Wainwright will show up, and bring the National League pennant with them.
At 5-8, the Rams’ record is much more respectable than it was in 2011 or ’07, but the team’s chances of winning appear just as remote as they did prior to those titanic upsets.
Offensively, the Saints have the NFL’s top receiving tight end in 2013, Jimmy Graham. They have the league’s top receiving running back over the last three seasons in Sproles. Pierre Thomas is still around, and so is Mark Ingram, who was injured in that 2011 contest. Say hello to the most productive wide receiver in franchise history in Marques Colston, who’s backed by a deep, talented wideout corps. Last but certainly not least is Brees, one of the greatest quarterbacks of this era.
The Rams, by the way, counter with the league’s youngest, most inexperienced secondaries. They may be missing one of their starters as well, with Janoris Jenkins questionable with a back injury.
In most seasons, the Saints on defense at least gave you hope. But this season, under the man who was almost Rams defensive coordinator — Rob Ryan — the Saints are sixth in total defense. They are tied for second in the league in sacks (with 43), and are allowing fewer than 200 yards a game passing.
The Rams, by the way, could be missing their top offensive (and special teams) playmaker in Tavon Austin, who is questionable with an ankle injury.
Jeff Fisher’s Rams frequently thrive under such underdog circumstances.
On Oct. 13, they walloped Houston 38-13 at Reliant Stadium before the Texans were officially declared an AFC disaster area.
On Oct. 28, in the first game for Kellen Clemens at quarterback in place of the injured Bradford, they pounded mighty Seattle everywhere but on the scoreboard in a 14-9 loss.
And after two tough losses under Clemens, they took the Luck out of Andrew, smashing Indianapolis 38-8 on Nov. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It’s difficult to imagine anything like that happening Sunday. Even if the Saints are a modest 3-3 on the road, this contest screams “bad matchup.” Even so, the Rams are conceding nothing.
“I think we’d all lie to you if we didn’t say this is a disappointing season,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “But we want the arrow pointing up at the end of the year, and we want to end on a positive note.
“You talk about a huge challenge. If you can’t get up to play the New Orleans Saints with Brees and all these guys ... then something’s not right in your DNA.”
The DNA may be right. The heart may be willing. But the Saints are, well, the Saints.
