Maybe I got this Rams season all wrong. After going 3-13, 2-14, and 1-15 the previous three seasons, I assumed that the somewhat improved Rams would win like 6-8 games this year. I never was any good at patterns in high school math. Oh wait, I get it! This season, the Rams are going to go 0-16. Or at least you'd have to believe they will after their error prone 14-16 road loss against the hapless Raiders in the latest version of the LSF Derby.
It was a tale of two halves. Mark Clayton caught a game opening TD pass from Sam Brad early in the second as the Rams seemed to have some momentum early. Despite only being up 7-3 going into the break, things looked good. Then, as the second half started, two things happened that changed the game. First, the Raiders swapped out failed experiment Jason Campbell for last year's surprise backup Brad Gradkowski. Second, the Rams ability to move the ball completely ended. Gradkowski led the Raiders to three scoring drives (FG-TD-FG), and despite a last ditch effort, the Rams couldn't get it back together. The battle of former LA teams went to the bad guys.
Boy, the Rams suck. Only 210 total yards of offense, 8 penalties for 92 yards, and possession for only 38% of the game. That's all just really bad. How about not recovering even one of the Raiders 3 fumbles? Insanity! Wait, why should I be hopeful this season? Why should I stop the "Fire Spags" chants I've been engaging in since the day he got hired? Why!?
Of course, it's not all doom and gloom (yes, it is). Sam Bradford, despite not being able to move the offense forward in the second half and not being able to get any receiver to catch for over 50 yards, completed 56% of his passes en route to a 167 yard day (nearly 12 yards per completion) wit 2 TDs and just 1 INT. Steven Jackson had 125 total yards on 19 rushes and 4 catches. Recent signing Mark Clayton had 2 catches, both worth 6 points. And how about that defense? Murphy and Butler each had a pick, Laurinitis and Hall each had a sack, and Hall even added a forced fumble. Craig Dahl led the team with 10 tackles.
Okay, even those positives aren't that positive, I'll be honest. In a season where wins will be at a premium, the Rams need to beat teams like the Raiders. It's our only hope. Lucky for us, we play in a horrible division. A win next weekend could possibly tie us for first place, as we're just a game back, and tied with the equally bad 9'ers (actually, they aren't nearly as bad as we are). We're also just as good as my wife's family's Dallas Cowboys so far, a point I will be driving home to my brother in laws all week. Unlucky for us, we're not going to win next week. Sunday afternoon, we're at home against Donovan McNabb and the 1-1 Washington Redskins. They just lost a tough 3 point game to Houston after narrowly beating Dallas on that Alex Baron holding play. I told all you Dallas fans not to be excited about him. Vegas has the Redskins as 3.5 point favorites, and even as a Rams fan, it'd be hard not to bet on the 'Skins and swallow the points.
Keep this in mind to stay positive as we approach the third week: The Rams have allowed the least points of any NFC West team, and are second in the division in point differential. When you're only one game out, despite being 0-2, that kind of info gives you hope (no, it doesn't).
Keep fighting, Rams. Let's marginalize these Redskins.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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