Sam Bradford broke a rookie record, the Rams defense only allowed a single touchdown in the first half, and we still lost. The Falcons played a grinding style of football, and bested the Boys in Horns 17-34 on Sunday. The loss is the second in a row for St. Louis, and the third in the last five games. We may have led 10-3 early in the second quarter, but the better team won, and we were overpowered.
Things started out well, as Bradford hit Hoomanawanui for a huge 25 yard TD pass, but the Falcons would come back slowly and surely. While the Rams defense was able to hold Atlanta back somewhat, the Falcons ability to march down the field and bury field goals did enough to turn the tide. They would finish with 12 points off the foot of their kicker. The kicker for the Rams came with about 3:24 to go, when Bradford's shovel pass was picked off at the two yard line. A score for the Rams would have made it a one score game heading into the closing minutes. Instead, Atlanta's defense ended Sam Bradford's record breaking streak of 169 consecutive passes without an INT, and ended the Rams chances of winning the game.
The Rams were a pathetic 1 for 10 on third downs, and there is just no way you can win a game with numbers like that. Add 7 penalties and about 11 minutes less possession, and you have a recipe for disaster. Bradford finished the game 27 for 42 for 233 yards, 2 TDs, and that horrible INT. His favorite targets were Danny Amendola (63), Laurent Robinson (55), and Hoomanawauni (46). On the ground, Steven Jackson had just 11 carries for 54 yards. He's just not getting used very well. The defense was again led by Laurinitis, with his 11 tackles, but overall, the pressure lacked and we didn't get to Matt Ryan even once.
So, at 4-6, the Rams have come crashing back down to Earth. Luckily for us, the whole NFC West still sucks, and we're somehow just 1 GB of the first place Seahawks (5-5). We lead 3-7 San Francisco and Arizona by a game. It's great how you can be playing at a sub-.500 level well into the second half of the season, and still have a pretty good shot at the playoffs. Now I know what NL West fans must feel like. The Rams have a point differential of -21, or -2.1/game, which ranks 19th in the NFL. But, our defense is ranked 8th overall, giving up less than 20 per game. The takeaway/giveaway ratio is looking pretty good at +2 this season (14th), but we have to keep in mind that we have a below average strength of schedule (rated -3.9 against a 0.0 league average).
To help myself feel a little more positive about Sam Bradford and his 28th ranked offense (out of 32 teams), I figured it was a good time to compare him to the other top QBs who came out of his draft class. We'll look at the "Top 5 Rookie QBs" from a Yahoo! Sports column back in May, and compare them using Y/A+ (yards/attempt placed on an index where 100 is average), Rate+ (passer rating placed on an index where 100 is average), and for all you geeks out there, FantPt (Fantasy Points earned).
Sam Bradford: 77 Y/A+, 94 Rate+, and 157 FantPt.
Jimmy Clausen: 64 Y/A+, 67 Rate+, and 30 FantPt.
Colt McCoy: 112 Y/A+, 101 Rate+, and 67 FantPt.
John Skelton: 0 Y/A+, 0 Rate+, and 0 FantPt (hasn't played a game).
Tim Tebow: 0 Y/A+, 0 Rate+, and 27 FantPt (only thrown one pass, which doesn't qualify for "+" stats).
So, out of the preseason picked top 5 rookie NFL QBs, where does Bradford rank? Obviously he's done more for his team than El Paso native John Skelton or Über Protestant Timothy Tebow. He's clearly outperformed Jimmy Clausen, which makes me so very happy. But what about Colt McCoy? McCoy has played in 5 games for the Browns, half that of Bradford in St. Louis, but he's done pretty well. However, if you adjusted McCoy's passing yards and TDs for 10 games, he would have put up 1,950 and 6 TD type numbers. Bradford has thrown for 2,158 and 14 TDs. I'm convinced. Sam is by far the best rookie QB out of the draft. But, can he get this team back on track?
Three days after Thanksgiving dinner, we'll find out. The Rams come out West to face off with the 3-7 Denver Broncos. This kind of feels like a game we have to win. Denver is actually favored by 4 points, led by Kyle Orton and Knowshon Moreno. But why is this cellar dwelling AFC West team slated to beat us, according to Las Vegas? They just got busted by San Diego, a team we beat, 35-14. They've already lost to San Francisco and Oakland. They just don't seem to have the skills. This game is a great opportunity for the Rams to regain control. The Seahawks may be challenged by 6-4 Kansas City, which could open the door to a first place tie if the Ramies can top the Ponies.
Let's bust these Broncos.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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