Rams seek no extra motivation/Wagoner

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RamBill

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Rams seek no extra motivation
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14991/rams-seek-no-extra-motivation

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams have little in the way of tangible things to grab on to heading into Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

At most, the Rams have the chance to play spoiler and prevent the Seahawks from getting home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and get their seventh win for a third consecutive season in the process.

But they aren't exactly embracing the spoiler concept.

"You definitely do a little bit but if you need motivation for this game you have a problem," guard Rodger Saffold said. "It’s always fun to go out there and play on such a big stage. You always want to play your best. We are definitely going to put it all out there. We have a chance to play to the point where we can empty the tank. We want to leave it all out there."

Most Rams scoffed at the notion that they have nothing to play for this week since they've been eliminated from playoff contention for a couple of weeks. Many rightly point out that they can't afford to put poor performances on tape and think that they'll be able to just keep their jobs after the season.

Beyond that, many have pointed to the embarrassing performance from last week against the New York Giants when they allowed 514 yards of offense and lost a 37-27 game that wasn't even as close at the final 10-point margin.

“It’s important every time you have a chance to compete to go and play well," quarterback Shaun Hill said. "To give it everything you have. Personally, I don’t buy into that they have more on the line than we have. It’s an opportunity to go out and compete and win a football game in the NFL. I like to just kind of sit back and reflect on what this game means to me and everything that it’s done for me in my life that I never would have guessed or even dreamed about. And if that means anything to you, then you’re going to strap them up and you’re going to play as hard as you can on Sunday. That’s my mentality and that’s the mentality of the guys in this room.”

A handful of Rams mentioned the idea of trying to build momentum heading into next season. Depending on whom you ask, though, that idea is more myth than reality. Of course, with an NFC West foe on the other side and the chance to pull off a season sweep of the defending Super Bowl champions, there might be a bit more to it than the average season finale.

“We want to play good football," coach Jeff Fisher said. "That’s what we want to do. We want to go into the offseason having finished up playing good football. They know that and they understand the challenge.

"I just think we’ll be able to talk about realistic goals next year as they relate to the division. If you can match up with the team that’s at the top of the division right now then you have a chance.”