Rams Fall Prey To Eagles 31-13

What a beautiful day for football we had on Sunday. The sun was shining, the brats were grillin, and the fans were loud, fired up and ready for some football. The Edward Jones Dome was electric for the first time in years. There were beautiful tributes to the heroes and families of 9/11, and everyone was ready for some football.

The St. Louis Rams came out in dominating fashion in this one. The Philadelphia Eagles started the game from their on 12 and the Rams made short work of them on the first series, Chris Long ending their drive with a sack of Michael Vick on the 15 yard line. After a short punt the Rams were in business at the Eagles 47. The Rams game plan that should have included a heavy dose of Steven Jackson started out in just that way. On the Rams very first offensive play Steven Jackson took the ball over the left side and sprinted 47 yards for a touchdown and the Rams were up 7-0. The Eagles Quickly countered with their own 80 yard drive to tie the score at seven. The dome was still electric as you could just feel this was the day until...

On the Rams second drive they continued to pound the rock and moved the ball 50 yards to the Eagles 32 yard line. On the 10th play of the drive Sam Bradford fumbled while dropping back to pass, and Juqua Parker scooped up the ball and raced 56 yards to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead and the Rams were never able to catch up. This was the beginning of the end for the Rams on this afternoon.

The rest of the game featured the Rams trying to claw their way back into the game but they just never could come up with the big play. The defense struggled to contain Michael Vick who accounted for 285 yards through the air and on the ground. The Rams also were not able to stop the cut back runs that killed them throughout the preseason as LeSean McCoy ran for 122 yards on only 15 carries. The Eagles were far from sharp but they were still able to make plays. Michael Vick was only 14 of 32 but the Eagles had receivers running free throughout the Rams secondary the entire game.

The crushing blow in this game truly is not the loss of the game but the loss of many of the Rams star players. Steven Jackson left the game after only two carries with a quad injury. Sam Bradford left in the second half after injuring the index finger on his throwing hand. Danny Amendola went down with a dislocated elbow. The three main offensive weapons of the Rams went down it became harder and harder for them to move the ball. For the game the Rams finished with 335 total yards but it was just not enough. We also learned that Ron Bartell suffered two fractures in his next, Bradley Fletcher has a sprained toe, Jason Smith has a sprained ankle and C.J. Ah You hurt his wrist.

More injury updates and grades will follow. For now the Rams *MASH* unit and medics will try to get enough Rams healthy enough to go take on the New York Giants (0-1) in New York on Monday Night Football.

By Stlvinnie - http://www.stlouisramfan.com

St. Louis Rams Whip Colts 33-10

Sure the Indianapolis Colts were without Peyton Manning but the St. Louis Rams beat them in every facet of the game Saturday night at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams got out of the gate early as their big free agent pickup safety Quintin Mikell intercepted Curtis Painter on the third play of the game and returned it to the Colts 16 yard line. Four plays later Sam Bradford hit second round draft pick Lance Kendricks for 6 yard touchdown pass and the Rams took an early 7-0 lead. After the Colts closed within 7-3 Craig Dahl intercepted Dan Orlovsky and returned it to the Colts 16. The Rams were unable to get into the end zone but Josh Brown kicked a 30 yard field goal to go up 10-3. The Rams continued to dominate in the second quarter behind A.J. Feeley who had a nice game going 10 of 14 for 100 yards. The Rams scored 13 points in the second quarter capped by a 60 yard field goal by Josh Brown as the half ended with the Rams leading 23-3. The Rams first and second units were dominate and looked very sharp as they did not draw one penalty and held the Colts without a third down conversion.

The Rams started just as hot in the second half as they drove 73 yards in 9 plays to take a 30-3 lead after Keith Toston busted in from 5 yards out. The rest of the second half was your normal first preseason game as both teams shuffled in and out backup players. Other than a bad overplay by Tim Atchison who was beaten by Taj Smith for a 44 yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky the rest of the game was pretty vanilla. The Rams were happy to just run the rock with Keith Toston & Van Stumon as the Rams ran for 169 yards on the evening. The Rams closed out the scoring with a 53 yard field goal from Josh Brown who was spectacular on the evening with 15 points. The Rams won 33-10 and will face the Tennessee Titans next Saturday night at the Edward Jones Dome.

By Stlvinnie - http://www.stlouisramfan.com/

The NFL Lockout Is Over

The NFL Lockout Is Over

After a 4 1/2 month lockout NFL football is back! If you listened closely today you could hear the collective sigh of millions of football fans who knew this day would one day come, but were starting to get worried that greed would win out. We found out it is indeed possible to divide 9 billion dollars!

As a fan not much has changed except hopefully a decade of NFL labor peace. We still got to enjoy the 2011 NFL Draft, we will enjoy the preseason, and the 2011 NFL season will begin on time as the St. Louis Rams will take on the Philadelphia Eagles September 11th at the Edward Jones Dome. The Owners will continue to make millions and the players got to miss some two-a-day practices in scorching heat and will have less practices in pads. On the surface the entire deal looks like a win / win for all.

Now the frenzy will begin and I do mean frenzy. St. Louis Rams players can show up to Rams Park beginning Tuesday. Players can’t officially practice, but they can get physicals, work out, and start some classroom sessions with coaches. Teams can also start contract talks with free agents. Friday training camp will begin at Rams Park for the St. Louis Rams, and teams can make official offers to free agents. The Rams will have their first practice in pads on Monday. Rams will release a list of practices open to the public soon.

So to recap all players must take a physical and sign their union card, we have draft picks and free agents to sign, you can trade players, we have to watch for injuries, padded practices will begin and we have a preseason game in 19 days. Wow I am exhausted just thinking about the next three weeks. I hope everyone is as excited as I am today that football is back!

By Stlvinnie - http://www.stlouisramfan.com

Rams Fans Lets Fill The Dome

Ok St. Louis Rams fans it is time to fill the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams went out and got franchise quarterback Sam Bradford in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Rams have won three straight home games for the first time since 2004! Thanks to the Rams and sponsors all fans have been able to see the first four home games even though the average attendance is 52,400. The Edward Jones Dome has a capacity of 66,965 but can hold up to 70,000 fans. It is time to fill the dome and make some noise this week against the Carolina Panthers (1-5). This weeks game will be played on Halloween which will give fans a great chance to express themselves. A win would put the Rams at 4-4 entering the bye week. Lets fill the dome!

Rams Fans Will Love Mardy Gilyard

What is not to love, this quicker than fast playmaker has St. Louis Rams fans having visions of the (GSOT) Greatest Show on Turf. At 6'1" 180 Mardy is not an imposing specimen, nor was his 4.56 combine speed anything to write home about but this kid is a playmaker. Over the course of his last two seasons as a Cincinnati Bearcat Mardy raked in 168 balls for 2467 yards and 22 touchdown receptions. In addition Mardy returned 92 kickoffs with a 28.9 average and 4 TD's as a Bearcat. Mardy will bring this and more to the St. Louis Rams.

After the Dez Bryant controversy over carrying Roy Williams pads Gilyard was asked about carrying pads, his response

“I’m okay with carrying the pads, combing hair, tying the shoes, whatever it
takes. I know my role, I’m a rookie and I know I can’t say too much. Actions
speak louder than words and in the words of my momma, ‘I can show you better
than I can tell you.’ I’m cool with anything, that’s my role as a rookie.

How refreshing is it to here those words from a rookie.

I think the St. Louis Rams absolutely stole Mardy Gilyard with 101st overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft. Although he does not have the speed and is not as much of a deep threat I hope Mardy Gilyard can bring to the St. Louis Rams what Desean Jackson brought the the Philadelphia Eagles a couple of years ago and that is a playmaker, a baller, a difference maker. I look for Mardy to occupy the slot in 2010 and return kickoffs over the smaller Danny Amendola.

While talking to St. Louis Rams tickets account executive Jon Kruse I was told recently Mardy Gilyard was at the Rams offices at the Edward Jones Dome helping with a promotional ticket event and asked if he could go down on the field. While Jon was reluctant La'Roi Glover said it's ok let him go. I was told Mardy ran all around the field in his dress clothes and had tears streaming down his face he was that happy. He asked Jon where he was standing and Jon said on the field and Mardy said "in the end zone."

Look for many more reasons to love Mardy Gilyard every Sunday this fall.

By Stlvinnie - http://www.stlouisramfan.com

St. Louis Rams 2010 Preseason Schedule

The NFL released the 2010 preseason schedule today. Dates and times of the games have yet to be determined. Rams fans will get to see the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens at the Edward Jones Dome. This will be the first time in a long time that the Rams will not play the Kansas City Chiefs in the preseason and I for one am very happy about that. The Rams will not take part in any of the 11 nationally televised games which is no surprise since they went 1-15 in 2009. The 2010 NFL preseason will get under way when the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Dallas Cowboys on August 8th in the Hall of Fame Game.

Week 1 - Minnesota at St. Louis
Week 2 - St. Louis at Cleveland
Week 3 - St. Louis at New England
Week 4 - Baltimore at St. Louis

The St. Louis Rams Are Very Bad

The St. Louis Rams are a very bad football team. Don't fool yourself with talk of they play hard, we liked the effort, they played the full 60 minutes, this team is awful. With the Rams embarrassing 27-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday I have now seen 11 straight home losses. The Rams are 1-10 on the season and tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns for the worst record in the NFL. In a very bad NFC West the St. Louis Rams have lost 12 straight division games. The Rams have lost 37 of their last 43 games. In the salary cap and parity era the Rams are not even mediocre, they are just flat out bad. In 2009 the St. Louis Rams have been outscored 55-17 by the Seattle Seahawks! Today the Rams statistically had a better day than Seattle but the Rams were never really even in the game. In 120 minutes of football against the Seahawks this year the Rams never held a lead. Once again the Rams were outscored in the second half of play (13-7) and without a late pity TD the Rams would have been held scoreless in the second half.

The Edward Jones Dome was a like a tomb today. The announced crowd of 47,475 seem to know what they are in store for before even getting to the game. This team is completely boring, devoid of almost any talent or playmakers. If the Rams did not have Steven Jackson they could possibly be one of the worse rosters I have ever seen. I have yet to see the St. Louis Rams under Steve Spagnuolo come into ANY game with a noticeable game plan. On first down the Rams run up the middle, they follow that up with dump off passes and continue the cycle. Today the Rams held the Seahawks to 265 total yards which is usually considered great but they still were not even in the game. With the St. Louis Rams apparently up for sale, a 1-10 record, obvious salary dumps early in the year and two more upcoming blackouts what are Rams fans to hang their hat on?

St. Louis Rams Arizona Cardinals Matchup

For the second straight week the St. Louis Rams face a high-powered NFL offense as Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals come to town. This is another awful matchup for the St. Louis Rams. On paper it looks like another long day for the St. Louis Rams down at the Edward Jones Dome.

Whenever the Rams play a team that can light up the scoreboard I do not like the matchup. Even though the Rams played well last week let's not forget that they actually lost. The Rams allowed 28 points and 420 total yards to the New Orleans Saints. Fans may think that is progress and maybe it is but these Rams are not going to win a single game when they allow 28 points, it's just not going to happen. The Saints gashed the Rams for 200+ yards rushing and they don't really have a #1 RB. The Rams also allowed 60% third down conversions, a trend that continues.

On to this week where matchups on both sides of the ball are frightening. The Arizona Cardinals score 25+ points per game and have been hot of late winning 5 of their last 6 games and they are undefeated on the road. Now with a healthy Anquan Boldin the Cardinals feature the best trio of wide receivers in the game and the Rams are very think and inexperienced at cornerback. The Rams will have no answer for Larry Fitzgerald who continues to be the best wide receiver in the NFL. The Rams need to pressure Kurt Warner into mistakes, and since they are 29th in sacks they will need to come of with some plays to get to him. In addition to these facts the Cardinals are starting to work Beanie Wells into their running game and he has been running hard. If they can supplement their passing game with any rushing at all they will put up 30+ points today.

When the Rams have the ball they will once again have to rely on Steven Jackson for production. The Rams lack of downfield passing makes them a sitting duck week after week. The Cardinals are 30th in pass defense but that is not the Rams or Marc Bulger's strength. The Cardinals play down hill all of the time and are super aggressive. Look for them to play 10 players within 10 yards and sometimes 5 yards of the line of scrimmage to shutdown Jackson. The Cardinals are 5th in sacks and will get pressure on Bulger throughout the game. Darnell Dockett is a beast and they will have to block him with Jacob Bell. Bell has no shot at blocking Dockett, the Rams need to play a fullback more often today. Adrian Wilson who usually eats the Rams alive only has half a sack on the season, look out for him today. Steven Jackson will have to do a great job in blitz pickup today. The Cardinals will lock down on Donnie Avery and Brandon Gibson with tight man to man coverage from Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie & Bryant McFadden. Over the top they will have Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle both will be looking to shut down Steven Jackson. You can get big plays against the Cardinals but they will keep coming.

The St. Louis Rams just do not have the type of offense to hang with Arizona Cardinals. The Rams will have to be at least +3 in turnover differential to hang in this one. I liked how hard they played last week but let's face it you only get 16 chances to win you should play hard 16 times. This whole thing is a complete mismatch.

Prediction Arizona Cardinals 30 - St. Louis Rams 10

The Alien Invasion Is Upon Us

The St. Louis Rams first home game was filled with Cheeseheads from around the Universe. I was able to meet the creature called Darth Packer along with our friend Ram Man at the ESPN 101 pre-game party at Baer Park across from the Edward Jones Dome. Both of these fanatical fans are part of the NFL Hall of Fame Ultimate Fans division. Both are also members of P.F.U.F.A (Pro Football Ultimate Fan Association). I would estimate that there were 20,000 to 30,000 Green Bay Packers fans in the dome for the game on Sunday. This is getting to be a habit at the dome and now that the Rams are 0-3 I look for it to continue. Thirteen straight losses by the Rams have Rams fans selling off their tickets to the fans of opposing teams.

I am pretty certain creatures from around the universe including Purple People Eaters, Farmers in plaid, Who-Dey's, Gridbirds, Seahags, Texans with large hats, and Goldminers are all on their way to the dome to take in the action. The Edward Jones Dome has become a home away from home for all road teams, as the Rams have lost 15 of their last 17 home games. Rams fans are being beaten down by what we are seeing and paying for on the field. Until the Rams can put more talent on the field, expect to see more and more aliens in the stands.

Edward Jones Dome Renovations

As interested and excited as I am to see the St. Louis Rams take on the Atlanta Falcons Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome, I am also excited to see the $30 million dollars worth of renovations that took place over the summer. That's right $30 million dollars worth of our taxpayers money went towards renovation of the Edward Jones Dome. For those of you that want a better atmosphere hopefully these additions will help. There will be two new LED video boards twice as large as the old video board. The Rams have promised more scores, highlights and fantasy information during games. St. Louis's largest sports bar, the Bud Zone will also be open to check out before and after the game. There will also be a new Premium Club in addition to a renovated Rams Club which will feature tons of televisions. Some daylight from the outside is supposed to be able to peak through the clubs and into the stadium. This natural light with some new lighter paint in the stadium should brighten things up a bit. There will also be a new LED marquee in front of the stadium.

I pray to NOT hear the song Celebration, or see the black and white pixel dancing Elvis character. We also hope the new improved sound system is unable to play commercials at the same time as highlights or announcements. See you there!

St. Louis Rams For Sale?

Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday that the St. Louis Rams are for sale. Well isn't that nice. Season ticket bills were due May 1st, back when Chip Rosenbloom and daughter Lucia Rodriguez were so happy to own the Rams and were going to do everything in their power to keep them in St. Louis. Well welcome to reality and greed only a couple of months later. Once again the Rams organization is doomed by the simple fact that it is being run by non-football people. In typical John Shaw, president of the St. Louis Rams fashion, he declined to comment on the team's potential sale. The Rams lease is up in 2012 at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams just came in at #111 in the 2008 ESPN franchise rankings. The Edward Jones Dome has been taking a beating lately by fans and media alike. Fans are not going to want to buck up for a new stadium only 13 years later. Will the Rams really move again? Do you care? Please write us and let us know your thoughts?

Stlvinnie
Owner http://www.stlouisramfan.com/
Lead Blogger http://ramblinfan.com/

ESPN Franchise Rankings St. Louis Rams #111

The 2008 ESPN franchise rankings have been released and the St Louis Rams are coming in at #111. We would also like to point out that Ramblinfan.com has been mentioned in the on-line version of the article. I don't know what is more surprising the fact that we were able to get into the article or the fact that there are 2 coaches ranked worse than Scott Linehan! Sorry that was a cheap shot but we had to take it. We also had more issues with the Rams over the weekend. The Rams Draft Day Party was from 1PM-5PM CST. Why was it scheduled like that? The 2008 NFL Draft started at 2PM, so we were allowed to stay in the dome for 3 hours of the draft. That is nice but at 5PM the Rams still had not made their 2nd pick. So basically after the Rams took Chris Long with the #2 overall pick around 2:10PM people were leaving since you would not even see the complete 1st round coverage while at the Edward Jones Dome.

Last Year's Rank: 81
Title Track: 32
Ownership: 109
Coaching: 120
Players: 109
Fan Relations: 109
Affordability: 111
Stadium Experience: 114
Bang for the Buck: 111

Seems like just yesterday this was the "Greatest Show on Turf." Now fans sound as if they just want this circus to leave town. At the very least, another big top is in order: The Edward Jones Dome has awful acoustics and dim lighting and remains behind the high-tech times. "The once-state-of-the-art JumboTron is now like a 20" TV in a hall of plasmas," grumbles Vincent Vitale of http://ramblinfan.com. And the stadium's proximity to both the Big Muddy and the Lumière Casino results in a dearth of tailgate real estate too. "There are little pods of tailgaters instead of one massive party," Vitale complains. And even if the team hadn't stumbled through a 3-13 season, those $8 stadium brews (yes, the NFL's priciest brewski is poured in Anheuser-Busch country) would make a comfortable spot for a pregame sixer a necessity. -Andy Kamenetzky

Stlvinnie
Owner http://www.stlouisramfan.com
Lead Blogger http://ramblinfan.com