RamView, 11/27/11, Game #11: Rams vs. Arizona, by Mike Franke
RamView, November 27, 2011
From Row HH
(Report and opinions from the game.)
Game #11: Rams vs. Arizona
Let the epitaphs begin for the Steve Spagnuolo era in St. Louis. In the last “must-win” game he'll coach here, Spagnuolo's run defense once again went belly-up, the offense wallowed in mediocrity, and the coaching staff continued to kill the team with stupid “strategy” on special teams. The Rams lose AT HOME to the freaking Cardinals for the SEVENTH straight year, and I have had freaking ENOUGH of this.
Position by position:
* QB: Pretty average game for Sam Bradford (17-31-208, 85.8 PR). He made some nice throws and missed some makeable ones. He threw a TD pass, so that's news. Ultimately, he couldn't elevate his offense's level of play over the poor performance of his line. And the Ram defense. Granted, a daunting task. His first impact play was a costly fumble after Sam Acho sacked him in the red zone in the 1st. You know, if I had Adam Goldberg protecting my blindside, I'd try to have eyes in the back of my head as much as possible, but an unsuspecting Bradford got nailed from behind instead, and it was little surprise the ball came loose. From midfield before halftime, Bradford got the Rams inside the 5 with passes to Brandon Gibson and Brandon Lloyd. We'll call Lloyd's pass an intentional back-shoulder throw for now. First and goal, though, bang, it's Acho from the blindside again, and the Ram offense only produces three points in the first half. Bradford set the Rams up for another FG in the 3rd with a 35-yard bullet to Austin Pettis, and by getting a 3rd-down pass thrown away under pressure to maintain field position for Josh Brown. The Rams stalled for a couple of drives while down 20-13, including a 3-and-out in the 4th. Bradford threw poorly behind an open Lloyd on 2nd down and too high for Pettis on 3rd down. But Bradford rallied right after. He drilled one to Lance Kendricks in triple coverage to get the Rams close and then, at last, threw a perfect fade pass to Lloyd to beat a blitz and score the tying TD. But the Rams' final drive ended when they couldn't convert on 3rd-and-1. Bradford managed the offense well enough and didn't hurt the Rams with any glaring mental mistakes, which has been one of his strengths this season. But the net effect of that this week was like being the one person on the Titanic who remembered to lock their cabin door.
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RamView, November 27, 2011
From Row HH
(Report and opinions from the game.)
Game #11: Rams vs. Arizona
Let the epitaphs begin for the Steve Spagnuolo era in St. Louis. In the last “must-win” game he'll coach here, Spagnuolo's run defense once again went belly-up, the offense wallowed in mediocrity, and the coaching staff continued to kill the team with stupid “strategy” on special teams. The Rams lose AT HOME to the freaking Cardinals for the SEVENTH straight year, and I have had freaking ENOUGH of this.
Position by position:
* QB: Pretty average game for Sam Bradford (17-31-208, 85.8 PR). He made some nice throws and missed some makeable ones. He threw a TD pass, so that's news. Ultimately, he couldn't elevate his offense's level of play over the poor performance of his line. And the Ram defense. Granted, a daunting task. His first impact play was a costly fumble after Sam Acho sacked him in the red zone in the 1st. You know, if I had Adam Goldberg protecting my blindside, I'd try to have eyes in the back of my head as much as possible, but an unsuspecting Bradford got nailed from behind instead, and it was little surprise the ball came loose. From midfield before halftime, Bradford got the Rams inside the 5 with passes to Brandon Gibson and Brandon Lloyd. We'll call Lloyd's pass an intentional back-shoulder throw for now. First and goal, though, bang, it's Acho from the blindside again, and the Ram offense only produces three points in the first half. Bradford set the Rams up for another FG in the 3rd with a 35-yard bullet to Austin Pettis, and by getting a 3rd-down pass thrown away under pressure to maintain field position for Josh Brown. The Rams stalled for a couple of drives while down 20-13, including a 3-and-out in the 4th. Bradford threw poorly behind an open Lloyd on 2nd down and too high for Pettis on 3rd down. But Bradford rallied right after. He drilled one to Lance Kendricks in triple coverage to get the Rams close and then, at last, threw a perfect fade pass to Lloyd to beat a blitz and score the tying TD. But the Rams' final drive ended when they couldn't convert on 3rd-and-1. Bradford managed the offense well enough and didn't hurt the Rams with any glaring mental mistakes, which has been one of his strengths this season. But the net effect of that this week was like being the one person on the Titanic who remembered to lock their cabin door.
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