Rams Roll Past Browns 13-12

For the second straight week the Rams game came down to special teams late. Last week the Rams suffered a 19-13 OT loss to the Arizona Cardinals as Josh Brown's 42 yard FG was blocked as time expired and then Patrick Peterson returned a punt for a 99 yard game winning TD. The Rams were on the other side of luck today as Phil Dawson missed a 22 yard field goal with 2:10 to play and the Rams held on for a 13-12 victory.

Nobody thought that Phil Dawson who holds the Browns record for field goals and had made 16 of 18 attempts in 2011 could possibly miss a 22 yard field goal. Long snapper Ryan Pontbriand double clutched the snap and by the time the ball traveled back it hit guard Alex Mack's ankle on the way back to holder Brad Maynard. Maynard got the ball down late and the timing was off and Dawson pushed the ball off to the left and the Rams had their second victory of the season.

This was another ugly game for the Rams but they were able to pull out the victory. This was one of the rare games that the Rams were a negative on turnover differential (-1) but were able to win the game. Steven Jackson was again the star of the game for the Rams running 27 times for 128 yards including two carries for 11 yards on the last drive to run out the clock. The Rams did manage to score a TD their 10th of the season on a 7 yard TD pass from Sam Bradford to Brandon Lloyd.

The Rams continue to play very conservative football and lets face it after 2 1/2 seasons it is obvious that coach Steve Spagnuolo likes it that way. The Rams were only able to manage 281 yards of offense and 13 points. Sam Bradford continues to look for open receivers and continues to not play very well. Sam once again put up his normal stat line 15 of 26 for 155 yards with 1 TD and 1 pick. With Jacksonville scoring 17 points today the Rams are once again dead last in points scored per game at 12.6.

The Rams defense again made stars of players that are not known to be great. The Rams allowed former Rams running back Chris Ogbonnaya to rush for 90 yards on 19 carries and Colt McCoy completed almost 75 percent of his passes and had a QB rating of 97.5. Pat Shurmer who could be the only coach more conservative than Steve Spagnuolo continually settled for field goals and that was the difference.

With every team in the NFC West winning on Sunday the Rams remain in last place and will now play four straight division games. The Rams will play the Seattle Seahawks (3-6) at home at the Edward Jones Dome next Sunday.

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

Rams Beat Browns 19-17

Despite only 172 yards of total offense (only 107 after the first drive) the St. Louis Rams managed to beat the Cleveland Browns 19-17 behind 4 short field goals by Josh Brown. The Rams took advantage of early turnovers to go up 13-0 13 minutes and 25 seconds into the contest. The NFL is all about winning but in preseason sometimes how the team plays can be even more important, however it was nice to see the Rams put one in the win column.

A.J. Feeley played very well going 4 of 5 for 46 yards and a touchdown pass to Daniel Fells. Feeley was injured on the opening drive hurting both his arm and thumb after a hit from Chris Gocong. X-rays taken last night were negative. The injury let Sam Bradford enter the game earlier than expected. The constant rain throughout the night played havoc with Sam and his ball security. You could tell Sam was unable to get a good grip on the ball as he again bobbled a couple of snaps and threw some wobbly passes down field. Bradford finished 6 of 14 for only 24 yards.

Overall the Rams played much better than they did against the Minnesota Vikings last week. We will break the game down into the Good, Bad, and Ugly of the night.

The Good - While playing in the rain the entire night the Rams forced 5 turnovers while not turning the ball over themselves. Winning the turnover battle is the key to success in the NFL. The offensive line play was much improved as the Rams did not allow a single sack of their quarterbacks. The starting O-line played for the entire first half. A.J. Feeley was solid and I feel confident that if he starts the season against Arizona he will do fine. Steven Jackson saw some preseason action gaining 20 yards on 4 carries. Steven Jackson is the key to the Rams offense, when he is not in the game the Rams are simply unable to move the ball. Mardy Gilyard was able to play with a cast on his wrist. Gilyard returned 3 kickoffs for 70 yards and 3 punts for 49 yards almost busting one. He looks explosive and instinctive in the return game. I can't wait to watch him get more time at wide receiver when his cast is off. The defense has to get props for creating 5 turnovers and forcing 4 sacks. A much better all around effort than last week.

The Bad - The Rams had to settle for four short field goals and were only able to punch it in for a touchdown on the first drive of the game. After Steven Jackson left the game the Rams backup running backs were only able to gain 45 yards on 25 carries which is just not good enough. The Rams are down right pitiful on offense without Steven Jackson's presence.

The Ugly - It was raining but 6 of 14 for only 24 yards has to be considered an ugly and disappointing performance from Sam Bradford. I really wish he would have gotten in more work in perfect conditions but that is how it goes. The Rams starting wide receivers continue to not get open or make plays. Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton, Laurant Robinson and Mardy Gilyard combined for zero catches, and rookie Dominique Curry dropped a touchdown pass from Keith Null. The Rams only had 3 receptions for the game from their wide receivers. With 10 receivers in camp we should be getting better play than this from that group. The Rams will not be able to compete with this kind of effort.

The Rams will take on the New England Patriots Thursday night.

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

Rams beat Browns 19-17

Despite only 172 yards of total offense the St. Louis Rams manage to beat the Cleveland Browns 19-17 behind 4 short FGs by Josh Brown.

Keith Null led the Rams with 46 yards passing

Keith Toston led the Rams with 23 yards rushing

Billy Bajema led the Rams with 4 receptions and Hoomanawanui led them with 33 yards receiving

Craig Dahl led the Rams in tackles with 6 and 2 assists

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