Sam Bradford may have had one of his best games of his short career, but the Rams defense was the real story on Monday, as they forced 4 turnovers in the 20-10 win over the hopeless (and helpless) Carolina Panthers. While the game that followed Issac Bruce's pre-game number retirement may not have been a barn burner, the home team did what it needed to do, and has now reached the season's midway point with more wins than the last two seasons combined (and 4 straight home wins!).
The excitement of retiring #80 high up into the rafters of the EJD quickly exited the stadium, as the game took on a very slow, low scoring quality. Only 13 total points were scored in the first half, and the away team didn't even pick up a first down until there was about 2 minutes left in said half. The Rams offense wasn't much better, but their defense carried the team. After a scoreless first, the Rams were able to nab a field goal and a TD on a short pass to Amendola to open things up, and Carolina could only answer with a late three pointer.
The game would stay that way until the fourth, when Carolina was marching and had the ball at midfield. Looking for a game tying drive, Steve Smith fumbled the ball after a reception, and Chris Long was there to pick it up. Five plays later, Bradford converted on a 3rd and 18 to Daniel Fells for 6 points. On Carolina's next drive, an intercetion by the Rams led to 3 more points for the good guys. The Panthers were able to score with about 3 minutes left, but they were straight locked down by the Rams defense all game, which allowed the Rams offense to only have to be a tiny bit better to get the win.
There were only 447 yards of offense between both teams, especially low because Steven Jackson's broken ring finger held him back a bit. While the teams finished nearly equal on penalties, the Rams won the turnover battle 4-0, and that was clearly the difference. Three interceptions and a fumble helped the Rams to keep the pressure on Carolina, and allowed the far superior STL defense to stay rested. We also had nearly 13 more minutes of possession, which always helps. Sam Brad finished 25/32 for 191 with 2 TDs and 0 INTs, and had his best game of the year in terms of QB rating (whatever that's worth). Jackson humbly led the way on the ground with 59 small yards on 23 carries, and Gibson's 67 yards on 6 catches led the air attack (Fells was second with just 35). On defense, Atogwe, Butler, and Laurinaitis each had a pick, Dahl led the team with 10 tackles, and Laurinaitis, Atogwe, and Long each had themselves a sack. Yes, the D was sparkling.
At 4-4, the Rams have reached the halfway point of their season, and now have a bye week staring them in the face. It's going to be a huge week for the team to rest, relax, and heal up. When the second half starts, the Ramies will need to keep up the good work if they want to go down as a "solid" team, and possibly (dare I dream?) NFC West Champions. Currently, we sit just 0.5 back of first place Seattle, and hopefully they'll lose to the Giants on Sunday, so we can be all tied up with 8 games to go. So far, the Rams have a point differential of -1 this season, as they are 29th in points scored and 6th in points allowed (out of the NFL's 32 teams). Our SRS (Simple Rating System, with average being 0.0) is -2.9 overall, but our defensive SRS is +3.2 (of course, that means our offensive SRS is a big bad -6.0). That stat also includes our Strength Of Schedule, which is currently rated at -2.7 (again, below average). When I look at all that, two things come up. 1) We're really lucky to be 4-4 and near the top of a crappy division, and 2) our defense is really good. That defense, though, is clearly a rushing defense, as we are ranked 8th and stopping the run and a middle-of-the-pack 16th at stopping the pass.
I mostly examine the offensive player's stats after a game, but in honor of our defense, let's pull out some defensive leaders and give them the respect they deserve. I think we may be surprised by some of the names coming up.
Sacks: James Hall (6.5), Chris Long (4.5), and 4 players (2.0)
Interceptions: James Butler, Bradley Fletcher, and OJ Atogwe (2 each)
Passes Defended: Ronald Bartell (8), Bradley Fletcher (7), OJ Atogwe (5)
Forced Fumbles: Chris Long, Larry Grant, and James Hall (2 each)
Tackles: James Laurinaitis (47), OJ Atogwe (34), and Bradley Fletcher (31)
I'm very impressed by Bradley Fletcher's underrated performance, but OJ Atogwe is the star, as we all know. 2 interceptions on just 5 passes defended? Are you kidding me? OJ can straight up cancel out an oppossing team's best receiver, because they just won't throw to his side. The Windsor, Ontario native (who clearly had the tough choice between his CFL dreams and the NFL) and Stanford alumn posted an AV (Approximate Value) of 6 in 2006, 2007, and 2008, and managed to produce an AV of 4 last year, despite missing 25% of the season. To give some comparison of AV, Green Bay's Charles Woodson (who led the NFL with 9 interceptions last year) has his 2006-2009 AV look like: 7, 7, 11, and 16. Atogwe may not have the elevated goods like Woodson yet, but if he can up his INT pace just a little over the next couple of games, he could get his value around that 11 mark. And on this surprising Rams defense, OJ is clearly a Woodson-esque star.
After our bye week, we head out here to California to do battle with our most hated division foes (currently 2-6). This game against SF will clearly be a chance to make a statement. If we are going to be a semi-good team with a chance to sneak into the playoffs via the weak NFC West title, we must take care of San Francisco on the road.
Is the game slowing down for Sam Brad, as he claimed after Sunday's win? We'll find out on November 14th, in the Bay Area.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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