Rams Fall 16-13 To Texans
On the bright side the St. Louis Rams truly did play hard during their 16-13 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Rams were actually able to hold a 10-6 lead for 11 minutes and 32 seconds. A close loss like this one in a way is worse than a blowout because it shows that we just need a couple more playmakers and we could find ways to win games like these.
Keith Null was decent going 18 of 27 for 173 yards and a TD. Steven Jackson is simply the Rams best player and on the surface the player that cares the most about winning. Steven Jackson who had a noticeable limp in pregame warm-up and during the game in addition to his back pain and sickness this week muscled through with a gritty effort. Jackson accounted for 123 of the Rams 237 total yards. He also had time to get in a fight with SS Bernard Pollard - Watch the fight video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KqQuuFmx9Q. The Rams special teams were outstanding once again. Danny Amendola not only set up a TD with a 55 yard kickoff return he also caught a TD pass from Keith Null. Josh Brown was 2 for 2 on field goals including a 52 yarder. Donnie Jones who seems to be great week in a week out allowed no return yards and also downed two punts inside the 20. The Rams defense held the Houston Texans to 2.2 yards per carry. The defense was also good on 3rd down holding the Texans to 5 for 14 on the day. This allowed the defense to get off the field and along with their red zone defense stay in the game.
Speaking of playmakers the Texans have one of the best in the league in wideout Andre Johnson. Johnson will easily lead the NFL in receiving yards in 2009, and he will also top 1500 yards for the second year in a row. The Rams just had no answer for Johnson who had 196 yards on 9 receptions. I think the Rams were lucky since they did keep Johnson out of the end zone. Since Ron Bartell only plays left cornerback the Texans lined up Johnson in the backfield, would send him in motion and could pretty much dictate what coverage they wanted. This forced Quincy Butler and Justin King to cover Johnson quite a bit. Matt Schaub was able to pick apart the Rams defense going 28 of 30 for 367 yards a TD and a QB rating of 107. Teams have picked apart the Rams defense all year.
On the downside the Rams simply lack enough talented players and playmakers to win many games. The Rams offense is just awful. I know we are on our third QB but maybe that is part of the problem. I am ready to watch a Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen, even if we have to go through growing pains. With only six wins in their last 46 games the Rams are already going through pains so let's rebuild. The more I watch DeSean Jackson the more aggravated I get watching Donnie Avery play. Avery was once again a non-factor with four catches for 32 yards. The Rams are in desperate need of a backup running back with breakaway speed. Kenneth Darby and Samkon Gado combined for six yards on four carries, they simply are not the answer and do not allow Steven Jackson to get any rest. The defense also needs some playmakers. James Laurinaitis was a good start, he is a tackling machine but still needs to work on his coverage skills. The Rams only have 20 sacks on the season and when Leonard Little is not playing they pose no threat. On Sunday Matt Schaub was able to complete 70 percent of his passes and was not sacked. The Rams again allowed the opponent to gain over 400 yards as the Texans gained 419 yards on the day.
Keith Null was decent going 18 of 27 for 173 yards and a TD. Steven Jackson is simply the Rams best player and on the surface the player that cares the most about winning. Steven Jackson who had a noticeable limp in pregame warm-up and during the game in addition to his back pain and sickness this week muscled through with a gritty effort. Jackson accounted for 123 of the Rams 237 total yards. He also had time to get in a fight with SS Bernard Pollard - Watch the fight video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KqQuuFmx9Q. The Rams special teams were outstanding once again. Danny Amendola not only set up a TD with a 55 yard kickoff return he also caught a TD pass from Keith Null. Josh Brown was 2 for 2 on field goals including a 52 yarder. Donnie Jones who seems to be great week in a week out allowed no return yards and also downed two punts inside the 20. The Rams defense held the Houston Texans to 2.2 yards per carry. The defense was also good on 3rd down holding the Texans to 5 for 14 on the day. This allowed the defense to get off the field and along with their red zone defense stay in the game.
Speaking of playmakers the Texans have one of the best in the league in wideout Andre Johnson. Johnson will easily lead the NFL in receiving yards in 2009, and he will also top 1500 yards for the second year in a row. The Rams just had no answer for Johnson who had 196 yards on 9 receptions. I think the Rams were lucky since they did keep Johnson out of the end zone. Since Ron Bartell only plays left cornerback the Texans lined up Johnson in the backfield, would send him in motion and could pretty much dictate what coverage they wanted. This forced Quincy Butler and Justin King to cover Johnson quite a bit. Matt Schaub was able to pick apart the Rams defense going 28 of 30 for 367 yards a TD and a QB rating of 107. Teams have picked apart the Rams defense all year.
On the downside the Rams simply lack enough talented players and playmakers to win many games. The Rams offense is just awful. I know we are on our third QB but maybe that is part of the problem. I am ready to watch a Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen, even if we have to go through growing pains. With only six wins in their last 46 games the Rams are already going through pains so let's rebuild. The more I watch DeSean Jackson the more aggravated I get watching Donnie Avery play. Avery was once again a non-factor with four catches for 32 yards. The Rams are in desperate need of a backup running back with breakaway speed. Kenneth Darby and Samkon Gado combined for six yards on four carries, they simply are not the answer and do not allow Steven Jackson to get any rest. The defense also needs some playmakers. James Laurinaitis was a good start, he is a tackling machine but still needs to work on his coverage skills. The Rams only have 20 sacks on the season and when Leonard Little is not playing they pose no threat. On Sunday Matt Schaub was able to complete 70 percent of his passes and was not sacked. The Rams again allowed the opponent to gain over 400 yards as the Texans gained 419 yards on the day.
Labels: Houston Texans, Keith Null, Rams lose to Houston, Rams lose to Texans, St. Louis Rams, Steven Jackson, Steven Jackson Bernard Pollard fight, Steven Jackson fight, Steven Jackson video
posted by stlvinnie at
4:30 PM
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Clausen enters NFL Draft; is he a fit in Buffalo?The Buffalo Bills are back to work on the practice field today, but with news scant and the team not very interesting to begin with, it’s still, unfortunately, more intriguing to ponder future iterations of the Bills than the current outfit. Naturally, we’re going to be taking a brief field trip from talking about the Bills this afternoon – these Bills, anyway – and instead focus on the bigger news of the day.
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