2010 Season
Positives:
Editor's Note: The St Louis Post-Dispatch just put out a Rams app for the iPhone, and we at RamsHerd were given a sneak preview. Not having an iPhone myself, here's a guest review from faithful reader Justin Carter (@Th3Carter3).The St. Louis Rams. No matter how bad they’ve been the last few years, as a die-hard fan, I cannot get enough information about the team, the players, and the coaches. When I heard that they were releasing an iPhone application, I was pretty psyched. When Will offered me a code for the App, I couldn’t wait to find out what was on it.
The app itself is pretty plain. There are a few different menus, and each menu has multiple expandable tabs underneath it.
The News menu contains headlines of News, Defense, Offense, Games, and Twitter.
News: Has a latest news tab, along with the main columnists Miklasz, Burwell, and Gordon. Defense/Offense: Lists of the prominent defensive/offensive players, and any articles that the player is mentioned in.
Games: The games tab is one of my favorite features. It has every game listed, along with any articles that each team is tagged in. Since this application is from the Post Dispatch, any and all articles/pictures are from the Post, which limits the scope of this tab, but it is still a pretty neat feature.
Twitter: Has a tab for the Saint Louis Rams (@OneRamsWay), Jim Thomas (@JThom1), Bernie Miklasz (@Miklasz), Jeff Gordon (@Gordoszone), Bill Coats (@BCoats7), and Steven Jackson (@SJ39). Each tab lists the 20 most recent tweets for each account.
The next tab is a photos tab, which has a section for the preseason, and every game for this season. The photos tab glitches up every once in a while resulting in a blank screen with incorrect data at the top.
The last menu is the saved menu. When in a rush, you can click “save” on any article, and the app will put the article in the “saved” menu, and you can view it anytime you please.
One more potentially awesome feature is the ability to tweet any article from the phone, while also putting any comment you’d like behind the link and headline.
However, I never got a chance to use this feature. I tried 3 different accounts, with every password I’ve ever used, and I kept receiving the same error message. I even clicked the link in the app to create a new account and it still did not work. I’m not sure if it was just my app, or just my phone, or if it is even the app’s fault (could be a problem on twitter’s end).
Overall the app is pretty cool. It is the first or second app I open up everyday when I wake up. The biggest issue I have with the app is that at a $2.99 price tag, I would hope to receive something that I could not access anywhere else on the Internet.
That is not true with Rams Football app. There are no exclusive features that I can only get on the app. I can read all of the articles elsewhere. Having all of them in one place is awesome, but is it worth $2.99 to the average fan?
I’d give the app a 6/10. It gets the job done, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
no commentsSorry for the break in programming, gents, but there's something I have to get off my chest that's been bugging me since Sunday afternoon. I was on the sofa, enjoying the delicious irony of watching the Mike Martz and Scott Linehan offenses go head-to-head, just two years after they took turns driving the Rams off a cliff and walking away from the wreckage. (I was also cringing as Jay Cutler damned his own offensive line and all of my naysaying predictions to put up quality fantasy numbers... but I'm not afraid to eat crow.)
But then, just another game turned into A GAME, as the Lions' offense, stagnant under replacement-level replacement QB Shaun Hill until the final minute, suddenly mounted an improbable game-saving upset-making drive. And then, that GAME was transformed into 59 minutes of almost meaningless back story, the stuff you fast-forward through to see THE PLAY. This play. This touchdown.
The best thing in football is the Big Upset.
The most joyous is the last-minute miraculous upset, a triumph of a moment built on three hours of drama. We had that last Sunday afternoon when Calvin Johnson skied for a ball and came down with it in the end zone, and the ref signaled TOUCHDOWN. At least, we thought we did.
I imagine everyone has seen the replay by now. Johnson, who didn't catch a single pass when featherweight golden boy Matt Stafford was in the game, caught a throw from Hill (that was miraculous in its own right). Two feet inbounds. Ball secure in his giant mitt as he falls. Ref's hands in the air. Johnson goes down to the turf, still clutching the ball, which no longer has any value since it's already a touchdown. Getting up, he leaves the ball on the turf ... the classic "non-celebration" akin to handing the ball to the ref after crossing the goal line.
But then, the worst thing in football happened. The worst thing in all of sports. The referees inserted themselves into the game itself, and defended where the Bears couldn't. They exercised a judgement call, and overturned the corner referee.
That the play was subsequently reviewed and upheld (and defended live, on-air, by director of officials Mike Peireira) only made it worse. The beauty of the game was already dead, and the referees stood there deliberating how many more magazines' worth of bullets to pour into it.
There is no argument that the refs made the "right" call.
The right call would have been to say nothing. To not huddle. To let the ref whose eyes were on the play make the call. Maybe they take some heat in the referee's private room afterwards, but that's the worst that could have possibly happened.
Go back to the first video and listen to the playcall of Chris Meyers. He has been broadcasting football for over twenty years. He's watched more film of more football than most of us fans. And he had no doubt, no hesitation at all. He called it a touchdown with no equivocation, no question of "did he have it" appeared until the head umpire called for the zebra huddle. After all, a catch is a catch, right? It was a touchdown back in Super Bowl XII... (Hat tip to @dpshow for the flashback.)
Like Jim Joyce can tell you, once the officials take something away from the game, no one can put it back.
Joyce, who took a perfect game out of the Detroit Tigers' record books, will always be weighted down by regret. I don't know if Peireira feels the weight the same way -- after all, it's just one lousy win for a lousy team over another slightly less lousy team -- but upon reflection, he does admit that it doesn't smell right.
As a Rams fan, my heart is with those fans in Detroit who got jobbed. Of course, they have it much worse than a single game in the standings, having lost Stafford to a second major shoulder injury in two seasons, and have to suffer not only through six games of Shaun Hill, but the questions over whether their $42 million dollar man, their Sam Bradford, can be the guy they can pin their hopes on. They have to suffer with doubt until Stafford can get back on the field and re-earn their faith, and the only thing they would have had to cling to was this miraculous touchdown, this upset over the hated Chicago Bears. And that was taken away.
This game is officially in Humpty Dumpty territory now. Once broken, it will always be broken. We can only hope that the next time the referees come up to something so fragile, they don't huddle up and talk themselves into pushing it off the wall.
no commentsWeek 1: Cardinals (0-0) at Rams (0-0)
Sep 12, 2010 3:15 CST
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NFL.com: Recap | Play by Play | Video
I'm going to speak for every single fan of the Rams out there when I say we're tired of stories about "moral victories." And then I'm going to tell one anyway.
Fans packed the Dome for the 2010 season opener, hoping for a win, but more than that, praying for a good game. They haven't seen many, especially last year when their average home game ended in a 17-point loss. Defend the Dome we didn't, and neither did the fans, who have been known as easy marks for the invading caravans of visiting teams. But those that came out this Sunday dressed in blue and gold were left with a dizzying blend of hope and pain, knowing that this was a game that got away in the last minutes, and knowing too that this team is ready to put up the kind of fight unseen in this house in many years. That maybe these Rams were ready to earn back our love, one jarring tackle at a time.
WillykMw @RamsHerd What a tough loss... I have to say it's been a while since I've been that excited at a Rams game!!!
eatsomechips@RamsHerd have never come away from a loss feeling so positive. Thanks for guiding me through it, go Rams!
MrPhilosopher3@RamsHerd @ottoman89 @TurfShowTimes i know y'all feel my pain right now and the rest of the #RamsRT crew.
Ottoman89@mrphilosopher3 @RamsHerd I feel all the pain. Unfortunately.
And let it be said: the Rams' defense beat the feathers out of the Cardinals all game long. They ragdolled Derek Anderson, hitting him 9 times (that were recorded in the gamebook) and sacking him twice more. They tattooed receivers down the field, and made numerous crunching hits that said no yard shall go uncontested. Because it's week one, and they are on relatively fresh legs, Derek Anderson and the Cardinals were able to pick themselves off the mat and make the plays in the fourth quarter that won the game. But this intensity, this willingness to deliver punishment, will pay off in the win column for the Rams as the season goes on.
The Cardinals' defense is more than capable of delivering hits of their own -- Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett pressured Bradford numerous times (though he absorbed fewer hits than Anderson), and Adrian Wilson was in beast mode, as he so often is against the Rams.
Some quick thoughts:
Three stars: Arizona
- 3. Adrian Wilson -- the Rams just couldn't block him in the first half, and he personally took points off the board with a blocked field goal in the 1st.
- 2. Steve Breaston -- someone needed to step up in Boldin's absence, and Breaston did, big time. He also saved the win by stripping Cliff Ryan of the ball near the goal line, robbing the Rams of a sure touchdown.
- 1. Derek Anderson -- I have to give him credit, he took a pounding, and he misthrew a huge number of throws, but he created the winning points with a gutty drive and final toss to Fitzgerald.
Just missing the cut? Larod Stephens-Howling. The Cardinals' ground game was stuck in the mud until he came in and found air to the outside on a pair of perfectly executed sweeps. He seemed to back the Rams onto their heels for a rare 5-play sequence (all runs) that ended in a Tim Hightower TD.
Three stars: Rams
- 3. Ron Bartell -- Look at the stat sheet. 15 times, Anderson threw a ball to Larry Fitzgerald, arguably still the best pure receiver in the game. Only 3 were caught. Bartell was in #11's shirt all day, but unfortunately he gambled and lost, going for the ball, on the TD catch that sealed it.
- 2. Chris Long -- Long brought monster pressure all game long, recorded three QB hits and multiple hurries, and racked up double teams along the way to open lanes for teammates.
- 1. Mark Clayton -- To come in with barely a work week of practice and have the role he had in the offense today was incredible. (I'm sure he regrets a drop on a ball that got to him amazingly fast, though -- could have been six.)
Just missing the cut? The golden boy himself, Sam the Ram. He played an incredible game, gutty and inspired football, and he made some throws -- including the brilliant touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson on 4th and 1 while escaping to his right -- that electrified the crowd. But I bet he would tell you there were multiple throws he'd like to have back. Not just the interceptions, only one of his was his fault (the first quarter pick by Wilson)...
“That’s something that I had seen on film all week,” Bradford said. “I knew he was going to undercut our crossing routes and it’s just something I tried to force in there. So that’s something I really wish I could take back.”
-- stlouisrams.com: Bradford stays calm in debutOn the game's first drive, Bradford set and had time to look downfield from the Cardinals' 16 yard line, and saw Laurent Robinson gunning up the seam ... a good throw connects for a touchdown, but Bradford burned the rug at the five yard line. Adrian Wilson blocked the Rams' field goal try on the game's next play. He completed a few passes that his receivers had to stop and lean back for, killing their momentum and preventing the chains from moving. While his face didn't show it -- the kid was unflappable, even as numerous muggings of his wideouts occurred downfield -- his arm might have betrayed some nerves in this, his first start.
As good as he was in his first start, and as much as the team relied on him (55 throws? really?), Bradford can and will improve. He has a higher standard than this.
Scariest moment
Danny Amendola got up from a botched punt return, and the cameras followed him on the sideline as he tried to figure out how to put weight on his left leg. He held it ramrod straight, like walking with a pegleg, until giving up and hopping his way to the bench. He missed a series though, and was back in there just minutes later.
Questions to ponder
Why did the Rams only activate 4 receivers for the game?
Especially as much as they threw, you have to think Brandon Gibson could have been making plays out there. (Nobody on the Rams is better at creating separation on a stop-and-go route.)
Where were the vertical plays the Rams needed in the last minute of the game?
It took only a minute-twenty to score our lone touchdown at the end of the first half, clearly the offense is capable of moving down the field at times. But when Craig Dahl (and a favorable ruling by the referees) gave us a miraculous last chance at the end of the game, again with 1:20 on the clock, the offense turtled.
Was Steven Jackson on a pitch count?
22 carries is a pretty good workload, but it pales in comparison to the 55 passes that Bradford threw. Darby and Karney got two carries between them. If the coaches were worried about taxing Jackson, they should consider the punishment he takes (and delivers) while sealing Bradford's blind side from the multiple white-clad blitzers.
Final thoughts
Someone in my twitter feed compared this game to the loss against the Saints last season, and I thought the same. After that one, I called it "a real loss," because it was one of the few times that we saw the Rams go toe-to-toe for a full 60 minutes with a real team. The Rams took 9 games to build up to that level of play last season ... they got there in the opener this year. Next week the Rams go to Oakland, and I have no qualms about forecasting a win once again.
Damn it feels good to have a real football team in town again. It will feel even better to get that win. Bring one home, boys.
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We're just a couple of hours away from the kickoff of the 2010 season, on this most auspicious day. The NFL is back, and I'm celebrating by watching two former Rams' offenses duel each other in Chicago ... a meaty appetizer for the main course!
To kick things off, I had a brief (and one-sided) Q&A with Kevin Bonneville (@KevinBonneville), our Fanball correspondent for Desert Flock. Enjoy this little amuse-bouche before the Rams and Cardinals serve up the goods.
Q1: Is there reason to believe Derek Anderson can win games for AZ?
KevinBonneville @RamsHerd I believe that Anderson can and will win games this season. He did it in Cleveland with less than a stellar group around him.
Technically speaking, he's right. Anderson did win games, plural. But a 1-5 string as starter last year put a real dent in his NFL rep. He played relatively mistake-free in the preseason, though, and Whisenhunt has a much better offensive pedigree than Mangini. The onus is on the Rams to force him into mistakes, and keep the Cardinals' receivers blanketed.
Q2: Lots of turnover on defense, how is that unit shaping up?
KevinBonneville @RamsHerd The defense is looking good and I think it can be improved from last season. The front 7 is strong and the secondary is too.
Early returns on their rookie linebacker, Daryl Washington, have been very positive. As James Laurinaitis, Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga showed last year, linebacker is a position where rookies can step in and become immediately productive NFL players. He's a player to watch.
Q3: How important is a healthy Beanie Wells to the offense?
KevinBonneville @RamsHerd A healthy Beanie is essential to this offense with the retirement of Warner. He is a stud every down back when healthy.
If the true measure of a player is how much he's missed when he's not on the field, we'll find out today just how essential Wells is. He's inactive for today's game.
Finally, give me your prediction for this one.
KevinBonneville @RamsHerd 27-17 Cards
Steadily, grain by grain, the Rams have been rebuilding reasons for hope since the day Billy Devaney arrived. Roster mistakes were purged, heads in the front office rolled, and ultimately Coach Spagnuolo was brought in to take a much younger, more anonymous team and instill in them the meaning of fight, and of family. He brought this group together, praised those that worked hard and integrated new players willing to work harder. The wins didn't come, but the ground was made fertile and new again, allowing for the planting of new seeds of hope.
Given the first pick in the draft, the Rams didn't mess around or dodge their fate. They saw a man they liked to become the new face of the team, and put him through every conceivable test before saying, "Yes Sam, you're our guy." That the decision meant paying the biggest rookie contract ever while trying to sell the team? Done. No problem. That the decision meant handing your franchise to a man who played a mere handful of snaps since 2008? A risk, but one with immense potential for reward, glimpses of which we saw in the preseason.
Now these Rams face the next big test -- a sold out home crowd, and a bloodied and dangerous division opponent, and a game that counts. All their work, the re-riveting of the iron core of this team, rebuilding it to withstand punishment, re-arming it to deliver more in kind, leads up to this moment, to this kickoff, this Sunday afternoon.
Game on!
What the world will be watching
1. Can Sam Bradford keep the magic going that he started in the preseason?
Can he reinvigorate this franchise, reenergize the fans; can he make the Dome loud again? Can he continue to turn relative unknowns like Laurent Robinson, Danny Amendola, Mark Clayton and Brandon Gibson into dangerous weapons? Can his offensive line keep him upright, in the process?
2. Did Ken Whisenhunt cut off his nose to spite his face?
I don't blame the Cardinals coach one bit. If I was him, I wouldn't want to go to war with a milquetoast underwear pitchman like Matt Leinert either. But shouldn't the Cardinals have been better prepared for this scenario? Wasn't there a better option out there than Derek Anderson, who now takes the reins of the once-feared Arizona offense? The same Derek Anderson who had only one game last season with a QB rating higher than 60? Is doing the right thing for your team's morale going to kill their chances of contending in this division? (If the Rams' defense stifles the Cardinals, don't expect them to get a lot of credit from the national media.)
3. Which team will fold down the stretch?
Make no mistake, the wolves are out on both of these teams. The team that wins isn't going to get as much credit for the decision as the team that loses. If the Rams falter? Oh well, same old Rams. If they prevail? It will be a referendum on the franchise's return to quarterback hell after Kurt Warner's retirement. The Cardinals are favored by 4 almost as a courtesy by the Vegas oddsmakers, but that line was once a touchdown. Confidence is not high in the desert.
What I'll be watching
1. How to defend the pocket, and attack from it. Looking beyond the obvious problems at quarterback, and not-so-obvious problems at offensive line -- which is almost wholly dependent on the name value of Alan Faneca to run Whisenhunt's vaunted power-running game that brought the Steelers back to playoff prominence -- the Cardinals present a very challenging defensive puzzle for the Rams to solve. They play a 3-4 with two very effective inside rushers in Calais Campbell (primarily lined up inside Saffold) and Darnell Dockett (primarily working between Jason Smith and Adam Goldberg), with Joey Porter gunning from the OLB spot. Identifying the rush and getting his protections in order will be a key task for Bradford.
Second task? Eluding the rush when it does come, because it will. Danny Amendola, Steven Jackson, and the TEs will be key targets as they attempt to occupy voids left by these aggressive rushers. But most importantly, the Rams' offensive line must steel themselves against the threat of the rush. Penalties from the line will really hurt the offense in this matchup, as it gives the Cardinals a green light to pin their ears back and get after the QB.
Third, and perhaps most subtly, will be Bradford's nerves. He's been jumpy early in each of his landmark starts -- that first Saturday practice with 2000 fans in attendance, the Lindenwood scrimmage, and his first preseason action against Minnesota. Each time he has settled quickly, but this nationally televised afternoon game represents the biggest test so far. (For a parallel, I marveled at the cool head of Drew Brees, who mishandled a snap in his own end zone on third down, but picked it up and jogged to his right to find Robert Meacham for a 30-yard gainer. Unbelievable calm.)
2. Who covers Larry Fitzgerald?
As I wrote in my Week 1 QB Analysis for Fanball's OwnersEdge subscribers, the shift from Captain Checkdown (Matt Leinert) to Señor Staredown (Derek Anderson) almost certainly means more targets for Larry Fitzgerald, the team's unquestioned #1 receiver. Traditionally, #11 has been Ron Bartell's man, but Bradley Fletcher has come on in the preseason and we saw him blanketing Randy Moss for much of the Patriots game. The ball-hungry Atogwe should also figure in prominently, as there will most certainly be passes up for grabs. Getting turnovers, and getting points off them, will be the surest way to break the spirit of these Cardinals, and give this game to the upstart Rams.
3. Who will win this game late?
I expect this game to be close in the 4th quarter (unless the Rams have blown the Cards out by then :D ) and the Rams must continue to make aggressive, smart plays if they want to win it. The crowd will be nervous with anticipation, waiting for a reason to explode. Will it be a James Laurinaitis stuff? Will it be a Chris Long sack? Will it be a leaping, sticky-fingered catch by Brandon Gibson (who, the last time he faced the Cardinals, got 17 targets)? Will it be a second- and third-effort run by Steven Jackson, willing the offense to a critical first down?
Final prediction: Rams 27, Cardinals 23
Ultimately, this game comes down to stopping a last-gasp, touchdown-or-bust 4th quarter drive from the Cardinals. This game will hinge on the Rams' defense playing the last of the game's 60 minutes as fiercely as the first.
Do you believe? I'm ready to.
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