It's hard to blame the gameplan when you out-gain your opponent by nearly 200 yards. It's hard to blame the defense when they utterly shut down the biggest threats in the Dolphins offense. It's hard to blame the refs when they gift-wrap two huge calls for you, taking fumbles off the board. It's hard to blame Sam Bradford when he averages better than 8 yards per pass (but some will surely try). 

The Rams were undone not by a single player or a single play, or by a single player (no, not even rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein, who missed three field goals wide left from 48, 52 and 66), but by a series of little mistakes. The arithmetic of football added up against St Louis today - shoot yourself in the foot more times than your opponent, and you likely end up in the loss column. 

Looking at the numbers, this doesn’t look good for the Rams. Since the end of the 2007 season, the Rams have won exactly five road games. Yes, this is a different team, but this new team is 0 and 2 on the road. The Rams need to be able to run the ball, or at least threaten the run to have offensive success. Turns out, Miami is the number one defense against the run in the NFL. The fins only allow 61.4 yard per game.

The Dolphins weakness is pass defense. They are 26^th against the pass, but the Rams are not at their best when they are pass happy. Furthermore, the Rams just lost their favorite target in the passing game, Danny Amendola. Last week’s seven completion game may not give Rams’ fans warm and fuzzy feelings. With our back-up offensive line still playing, I should also note that Miami is 6^th in the NFL in sacks with 15.

I am certain some fans will say: Arizona beat the Dolphins, and we beat Arizona. Unfortunately, the NFL is not that easy. Given the facts above, Rams’ fans should not look at this game as an easy win.

With that said, I think the Rams can and will win this game. We have the better coach, the better quarterback, and the better defense. We know we have the better coach because both teams wanted Fisher, and we got him. The Dolphins had to go with option 2.

Photo courtesy of Lance Tilford Limelight

Most of the Rams’ fans (especially the males) reading this article may have recognized a new face at home Rams’ games interacting with the crowd. That person is Sara Dayley, a woman with many titles and responsibilities. Some readers may already know Sara from her job with Today in St. Louis on KSDK. Others may recognize her from her racing reporting on SPEED. I suspect there are even are a few readers that know her connection to baby blue and St. Louis sports history from the 80’s. Sara was kind enough to grant me an interview.

RamsHerd:  Some of us early birds will recognize you from KSDK's Today in St. Louis, but most Rams fans have just met you from Rams game day events.  Can you fill us in on the official job title?

Dayley:  I’d love too! In Game Host is my exact title, but I have also heard “that one girl”, “the chick on the jumbo tron” or “that girl from KSDK”. I’ve been given a lot of different fun titles, so it’s all acceptable I guess.

RamsHerd:  What were you expectations of the job and what has been the biggest surprise about the job?

Dayley:  It’s honestly all that I expected and more! There is nothing like interacting with fans and being part of such an incredible organization! If you are a true sports fan, it’s so exciting to be surrounded by energetic-passionate-die hards that just appreciate the game and what’s going on with Coach Fisher and the team as a whole. The biggest surprise is how connected I feel and it’s only been a few weeks. When you love what you do, you don’t consider it work, and it’s fairly easy to get attached.

RamsHerd:  Can you give us the straight scoop?  Is the ball hidden under the helmet game fixed?  

Dayley:  Well, come on now, I can’t give away all my secrets. There are only 3 helmets so you already have a 33.333333 percent chance to get it right and that’s not too bad. Ha! When we have special occasions or guests, like the marriage proposal a few weeks ago, graphics have to be pre made. In that unique situation, there may be a “suggestion” to make sure things go smoothly.

RamsHerd:  All true Rams’ fans know the players and coaches, but very few of us know the people doing the daily work at Rams Park.  To which department do you report, and who are the people you regularly interact with?

Dayley:  The staff at Rams Park truly work together as a team and a lot of them wear a ton of different hats, but I report to Scott Brooks who is the Vice President of Broadcasting and Creative . He is extremely talented and has a great grasp on what’s needed to provide the best possible product both on and off the field. 

RamsHerd:  I first heard about you on a radio show called Mayhem In The Morning.  When I researched your background, I was surprised at all of the different jobs you have held since that radio show. Can you give our readers a summary of how you made it to where you are now?

Dayley:  I started in radio out of college because it was an opportunity to stay in media, and it was here at home in St. Louis. My true passion was television, and I knew that was where I ultimately wanted to end up. I just kept watching, learning as much as I could, getting involved in everything and anything possible, and put myself in situations where I could work alongside some of the best in the business. I met some great people in the industry and kept climbing that uphill battle. After sending out a ton of tapes and some decent amount of time, I was offered a position with Feld Entertainment/SPEED & hit the ground running, jumping at every opportunity thrown at me!

The Miami Dolphins have been searching for an identity for more than a decade, ever since the departures of Don Shula, Dan Marino, and the high-octane weaponry in their downfield passing game. Since those days, there has been an endless parade of mediocrity at coach and quarterback. In an effort to halt the parade, the Dolphins front office has tried and failed numerous times to make big-splash coaching hires, including a lengthy pursuit of Rams coach Jeff Fisher.

Fins fans hope that those days may be finally over with the arrival of Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill has been very impressive in the early going despite getting far less pre-season buzz than fellow rookies Andrew Luck and RGIII. Philbin's offense has made Miami surprisingly competitive. Their last three games have been decided by a total of ten points, and despite a 2-3 record they find themselves only a game out of contention in the AFC East. 

The Rams appear to be back on track as well, adding a surprising amount of buzz and swagger to this early season matchup. To get more insight on the Dolphins, we reached out to Mick from PhinsPhocus.com, the excellent Dolphins fan site here on Bloguin. Here are our questions and his responses. 

Pre-Snap

Alignment Bunch Left Gun Right Y Buzz

The Rams come out in 11 personnel (1 back, 1 tight end) or sometimes referred to by an offense as nickel personnel. Bunch left part of the call tells us that there will be three receivers to the left, aligned tightly together.  Given the formation and personnel that means the Y, Z, and F (tight end) receivers will be aligned to the left and the X receiver, here Brian Quick, here will be on the right.  The “Gun Right” part of the call tells us that Bradford is in the gun with Richardson to his right of him.

“Y Buzz” is a motion tag.  It sends the Y receiver, here Austin Pettis, to the side of the call and outside the widest receiver.

This is one of the rare times that I can brag a little. Last week’s preview was dead on. Fans of the greatest show on turf may not have rejoiced, but, for now, this is the blueprint for success. Before we get into the review, I have a few comments.

 First, when I went back and watched the game recording, I was more than a little surprised how well the offensive tackles played. Sam Bradford was only sacked once, and the Rams were pass-happy in the first half. Yes, the tackles had assistance from the tight ends from time to time, but they more then held their own in one on one battles.

Second, for those fans that have been frustrated by Bradford’s laser lock on the main receiver and the inability to throw the deep ball, I hope you have been watching the last few games with open eyes. He is showing remarkable improvement.  If you don’t believe me, please read this tremendous article by Tim Shields as example 1: http://www.ramsherd.com/2012-articles/season/anatomy-of-a-play-sam-bradford-s-deep-throw-to-chris-givens.html

Third, notwithstanding Bryan Burwell’s beliefs, there are many fans here in St. Louis that like Steven Jackson. Personally, I love the man and the player. The young kid, who started as an arrogant athlete that did not understand when he might be inappropriate, is now a man that is a model of professionalism and leadership. As time has passed, I grow to appreciate the complexity of Steven Jackson. He cannot be limited to one adjective or stereotype. In my opinion, he is one of the more interesting personalities off the field. For the past year and a quarter, Steven Jackson has performed admirably, but not spectacularly, under extremely difficult circumstances on the field. I was incredibly happy to see the return of the beast in the second half of the Arizona game. This man has given his all to this team, probably to his physical detriment. I would love to see him have a great year and finally have some success with the Rams.

Now, let’s take a look at how the factors I noted as important to a win, actually played out:

 PREVIEW - 1.  STOP THE RUN. PERIOD.

There is no excuse in this game for the defense. They have to stop the run. 

Before the season started, I had this Rams team pegged for a 5-11 season. Mild improvement, based on a stronger showing at home (check), but nothing earth-shattering. I figured it would be too soon for all the offensive pieces to come together, especially given a threadbare offensive line, and was ready for a "wait 'til next year" approach to the season.

Well, here's a Monday morning toast to being wrong. 

At 3-2 and being ranked in the upper half of NFL Power Rankings for the first time in approximately forever, based on an opportunistic pass defense and a young offense that is starting to percolate with big play confidence, it's worth re-evaluating the schedule and seeing what we can see.