The Throw

[Roman Snow]

The quarterback broke the huddle and made his way toward the line of scrimmage. He wore the horns proudly. Brimming with confidence, he knew this play was going to work.

'It sure is nice to have such an innovative guy manning the play calling' he thought to himself as he approached the center. The offensive coordinator was actually being considered a true innovator. A fresh mind. A disciple of Don Coryell.

Surveying the defense, the young signal caller momentarily was given a flash of the future. A voice. (This play will serve to symbolize your career), it said. Then the voice was gone.

The post season. A championship would somehow be sealed with the fate of this throw. No Ram quarterback has yet won a Super Bowl. 'Will I be the first?' The young quarterback asked himself. 'I must!'

"Hut, hut!" He felt the familiar slap of the football into his hands and sprung into his drop. Well aware that this was a deep route (the coach thought he'd catch the defense off guard. 'We'll go for it now!') the signal caller sensed his biggest challenge would be to beat the rush.

But it wasn't the all too common blind side end he was worried about. His Right Tackle would be the key for this quarterback on this particular play.

The left Defensive End on the opposing team was making quite a name for himself, after all. And this day would be no different. 'Hold that block just one more second', the Right Tackle thought to himself.

The quarterback planted his foot, saw his lanky, fleet-footed receiver down the right sideline. 'We've got it!' He thought, launching the throw that would be watched by Ram fans for years, with great emotion.

But something would complicate this throw. The receiver would have to slow his stride, and make an adjustment on the ball. The quarterbacks arm was hit right As the ball was released!

That right tackle. He held his block on the star pass rusher. For a few seconds. But he was bull rushed enough to let the long armed edge man hit the quarterbacks wrist at release point, slowing the pass just enough to make the collective breath of all Ram fans stop, for just a moment.

The ball travelled through the air on a slower and higher trajectory than intended. The lanky receiver broke stride and made his adjustment. Then... It happened.

History was made. One of the great plays, and individual efforts of our time!

STOP.

Ok, ROD nation. What happened next? In one paragraph I want to hear how you guys would describe the climax of this play. Who were players and coaches involved, and the game and opponent that day. Let me hear from you guys!

I will give you 1 full day, then, I will write my final paragraph, and discuss this very critical play in Ram history.
:cheers:

 

[leoram]

EVERY Ram fan worth his salt knows the call by Steve Savard..."and they won't catch him today!"

Ike Bruuuuuuuce saw the trajectory, intentionally ran the corner beyond the catch point, then put on the brakes, broke inside, and raced for the end zone.

 

[T-REX]

Isaac Bruce and Az-Zahir Hakim line up on the right side Bruce wide right. Bruce and Hakim under press coverage by Denard Walker and Samari Rolle streak down the right side line. With the pass intended for Bruce under thrown by Warner due to pressure Bruce makes an adjustment that allows him to make the catch. Walker tries to recover but cannot and falls to the ground. Hakim cuts in front of Rolle slowing him down. Bruce puts an inside move on safety Anthony Dorsett who misses the tackle. Hakim circles around and is able to give Rolle a shove taking him out of the play. Bruce is now off to the races with Perry Phenix and Dainon Sidney giving chase. Phenix gives one last effort with an attempted diving tackle to no avail. Bruce races into the end zone and points to the heavens above.
:cheers:

 

[LetsGoRams]

EVERY Ram fan worth his salt knows the call by Steve Savard..."and they won't catch him today!"

Ike Bruuuuuuuce saw the trajectory, intentionally ran the corner beyond the catch point, then put on the brakes, broke inside, and raced for the end zone.

Not to rain on your parade, but that was Mike Bush - he was the first radio play-by-play guy here in STL before Savard took over.

 

[Roman Snow]

Great feedback so far guys! I love your memories of that throw from Warner to Bruce in SB XXXIV.

Hint to my dramatic conclusion later this evening: I actually renamed this thread from my original idea. I will spend the bulk of that post, after writing my final paragraph, in a compare and contrast. Look deeper grasshoppers!

 

[CGI_Ram]

Hell of a memory.

I remember going nuts.

Looking back on the play I'm glad Hakim didn't get called for a block in the back or something.

 

[Ballhawk]

Foles should be made to watch Warner on that throw, hell to watch him that whole season, over and over again until he "gets it".

 

[RamFan503]

I was sitting on my floor muttering something undiscernible when Bruce caught that pass. I almost knocked my coffee table over getting up to jump up and down while screaming happy profanities. Bruce and Warner both would have been embarrassed for me. Who cares? It was all about my Rams!

 

[Force16X]

Foles should be made to watch Warner on that throw, hell to watch him that whole season, over and over again until he "gets it".

why depress foles more than he already is ? hell, make him watch the Rams 57-31 beating of san diego on 10/01/2000 . whats the big deal ?? the Rams scored on every possession in that game.

 

[TK42-RAM]

"what a move he made and then leaving everybody IN HIS WAKE !!!!!!!!"

"one play ... one play."

 

[Roman Snow]

OK guys. As promised here goes the conclusion of The Throw.
First of all. Full disclosure. I kind of pulled a fast one on you guys. I was going to name this thread, Two Throws, Two Fates. ...

...Five minutes left in the first quarter, and the Rams seemed to be going for the jugular! The lanky receiver pulled up when he realized the throw was going to be falling short of the mark! Then it happened. Jim Everett's throw to Flipper Anderson floated a moment too long. Anderson desperately jumped and turned to try to gain position on the incoming defensive missile. But his effort at the two yard line fell short. Ronny Lott raced over from deep center field and batted the sure touchdown to the turf. Jackie Slater nearly held Charles Haley out of Everett's face, but Haley disrupted the previously unflappable Everett enough to throw the ball from an unbalanced plant foot.

Swirling Candlestick winds, in a twist of fate, and a contribution to the home team, may also have participated in the anticlimactic fate of the ball. Up in the booth, the offensive coordinator, Air-Coryell protégé Ernie Zampese, moments earlier being praised by color man, and former San Diego boss Coach John Madden as the "Best offensive mind in the game today," grimaced, then seemed to fade into obscurity for the rest of his career.

Madden had just done one of his famous circles of Zampese's face up in the booth, in delivering the praise. Madden's childhood friend from nearby Daly City, John Robinson paced the sideline nervously, Knowing a great opportunity just passed the Rams by, with this 2nd and 3 attempt at an early knock out blow from the 49er 41-yard line. Robinson donned the same blue vinyl jacket worn by a certain 24 year-old attendee up in the stands that day. That young, (and very handsome) Ram fan watched in horror from the back of Everett, and a perfect view of Lott's sprint across field. I don't know the fate of Robinson's jacket, but Roman Snow's jacket ended up in a Cheveron dumpster in embarrassment and disgust just a few hours later. The implosion was disgusting.

In a moment, The young quarterback, who in two early drives was picking apart this Forty Niner defense. Led the Rams to a first and goal from the nine yard line, then a field goal on their first drive. The Rams defense had held the Niners and Joe Montana on the first drive. After the field goal quickly got the ball back on a strip tackle of that putz, Brent Jones. It was passes to Flipper, then Ellard, Buford Mcgee on a crucial third down conversion, Pete Holohan over the middle into Niner territory. This is all coming so easy! First down pass- seven yards over the middle to Damone Johnson. Everett was a master at the helm!.

Then, in a moment, Chrissy Everett was born. (I was his biggest supporter. It hurts to say. He just lost something.) He would later perform the infamous self-sack in this game. The crowd went from hushed and dreading a blowout, to revived by Lott's hustling effort. The momentum shift was palpable.

The game was over. 30-3 was the final score, but the humiliation was much worse, my friends. It is the primary memory that fuels my hatred of the wussy Niners, and their front running fans. It is surely fuel for the SOSAR comments that would soon follow from cocky Whiner swine.

END

So there it is ROD friends. Two passes. Two Fates. 1989, and 1999. Ten years of separation. What if Bruce didn't make such a great adjustment? Would Warner be known as the guy who lost all his Super Bowls, in the category of Jim Kelly? What about if Everett stepped into that throw a bit more, or threw it a hair earlier. 10-0 Rams, with the confidence and momentum. Denver was the rival in the Super Bowl that year. I think the Niners won 55-10? The Rams had the #2 offense under Zampese that year. The defense was stout. But the Rams would spend 40 football years in the desert, (really 10) until the emergence of the Greatest Show on Turf. And what a great redemptive throw that was. Warner to Bruce...no punk Ronny Lott to be found.

Bruce's catch massaged a knot out of my stomach that day. ..."And they are not going to catch him today!"

 

[Roman Snow]

Isaac Bruce and Az-Zahir Hakim line up on the right side Bruce wide right. Bruce and Hakim under press coverage by Denard Walker and Samari Rolle streak down the right side line. With the pass intended for Bruce under thrown by Warner due to pressure Bruce makes an adjustment that allows him to make the catch. Walker tries to recover but cannot and falls to the ground. Hakim cuts in front of Rolle slowing him down. Bruce puts an inside move on safety Anthony Dorsett who misses the tackle. Hakim circles around and is able to give Rolle a shove taking him out of the play. Bruce is now off to the races with Perry Phenix and Dainon Sidney giving chase. Phenix gives one last effort with an attempted diving tackle to no avail. Bruce races into the end zone and points to the heavens above.
:cheers:

This was a great reply! You basically wrote ONE of the two potential endings T-Rex. Look at my conclusion. There was another end to this story. They both happened. The details are true of both throws. Just not both fates. Thank God for Ike and Kurt!

 

[wolfdogg]

Had a feeling it was this play when I saw the thread title. Dont know why, but it was the first thing that popped into my head.

 

[Roman Snow]

Had a feeling it was this play when I saw the thread title. Dont know why, but it was the first thing that popped into my head.

Pretty incredible how similar the two plays were, in many ways, huh? I wanted you to be able to picture either play. But fate is in the details. As I studied both plays it really became clear to me the similarities. The Rams actually desperately tried to force the ball to Flipper on the very next play in the EXACT same spot on 3rd and 3, as if in desperate realization that the game turned so dramatically on that one play by Lott.

The Rams then punted, and their hearts and their spirit were seen slouching into the locker room. Their dead carcasses, of course remained on the field to be humiliated. The Rams gained over half their yards that day on those two drives!

Go back and look at that first 10 minutes on you tube. I can't stomach the rest of the game. The Niners go on to score 3 touchdowns, then 3 field goals.

 

[Ram65]

Then, in a moment, Chrissy Everett was born. (I was his biggest supporter. It hurts to say. He just lost something.) He would later perform the infamous self-sack in this game. The crowd went from hushed and dreading a blowout, to revived by Lott's hustling effort. The momentum shift was palpable.

I remember that play that took the wind out of the Rams sails that day.

 

[Q729]

Not to rain on your parade, but that was Mike Bush - he was the first radio play-by-play guy here in STL before Savard took over.

Before the internet matured, all I had for my Rams fix was the internet radio stream, the NFL gamecenter thing, and Redskins/Rams games. Anyway, yeah. The season after I was like, this radio guy doesn't sound like the same guy. Did the "Gateway to West is now the Gateway to the Best!...football team in the world!" guy try to ask for too much money or something?

I think it was because they changed stations or something?

 

[Loyal]

Those 1989 Rams killed me. If they had won that game, the Rams history may have turned out radically different....The 1999 Pass and the resulting stop on 1 yard line by Mike Jones, I screamed like a loon in my new inlaws place. They were not serious football fans so they were blown away by my screaming..

I didn't care.

 

[Roman Snow]

Those 1989 Rams killed me. If they had won that game, the Rams history may have turned out radically different....The 1999 Pass and the resulting stop on 1 yard line by Mike Jones, I screamed like a loon in my new inlaws place. They were not serious football fans so they were blown away by my screaming..

I didn't care.

Yeah. Have you pulled up that 1989 game on You Tube? Honestly it doesn't take long to watch that first ten minutes. Some VERY interesting dialogue between Madden and Summerall.

Also when you consider that Madden was calling a game that his BEST childhood friend, John Robinson, was coaching, in what would be his last opportunity to go to the Suoer Bowl, in a stadium less than 10 miles from where they both grew up.

And then you consider that Madden, Robinson, Zampese and Coryell all coached together in that San Diego coaching tree. Then later Mike Martz.

 

[~lyser]

Not to brag (but I like to boast). I was at Lou for the NFC divisional round against the Vikings (have the foam french fries to prove it). LOUDEST place I have ever been. Ike's bookend first play from scrimmage - post pattern for 6. Sweet - but that game really broke wide open with Tony Horne's return of the second half kick off for 6. It was only 14-10 us at HT I think. Then, off course, Warner hit even the hot dog vendor for six in the second half as we ran up the score and Randy Moss somehow failed to be ejected for squirting water on an official (punk ass bitch).

I was also at SB 34 (I have the avatar to prove it). Ike's other bookend play. The thing I remember most about it, was TH was spitting up blood on the sideline earlier, the titans were coming back fast and furious; Air McNair and Eddie George were playing like champions. Ike made a HELL of a play coming back for the ball and Kurt got crushed by Kearse. My now ex-wife's eyes, (expensive baby door she is) welled up with tears of joy.

That game was obviously not decided until THE TACKLE - let's talk about M. Jones' text book tackle. Held the Titans an inch from TYING (not winning), provided a successful point after try.

 

[Roman Snow]

Not to brag (but I like to boast). I was at Lou for the NFC divisional round against the Vikings (have the foam french fries to prove it). LOUDEST place I have ever been. Ike's bookend first play from scrimmage - post pattern for 6. Sweet - but that game really broke wide open with Tony Horne's return of the second half kick off for 6. It was only 14-10 us at HT I think. Then, off course, Warner hit even the hot dog vendor for six in the second half as we ran up the score and Randy Moss somehow failed to be ejected for squirting water on an official (punk ass bitch).

I was also at SB 34 (I have the avatar to prove it). Ike's other bookend play. The thing I remember most about it, was TH was spitting up blood on the sideline earlier, the titans were coming back fast and furious; Air McNair and Eddie George were playing like champions. Ike made a HELL of a play coming back for the ball and Kurt got crushed by Kearse. My now ex-wife's eyes, (expensive baby door she is) welled up with tears of joy.

That game was obviously not decided until THE TACKLE - let's talk about M. Jones' text book tackle. Held the Titans an inch from TYING (not winning), provided a successful point after try.

Thanks for the feedback Lyser. Great memories.

Me attending the disappointing "Throw" and you attending the celebrated "Throw", I'm a little envious.