St. Louis Rams: Why the Rams' Tough Loss to Packers Doesn't Define Them

After suffering a 30-20 loss against the Green Bay Packers in Week 7, the St. Louis Rams should still be able to hold their heads high.

No longer are the Rams a laughingstock of the league like in years past. They are a team full of young talent, and although they may bend, they do not break.

Going up against reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, the Rams knew they had a tough matchup ahead of them. Still, they fought on and played the kind of hard-nosed football they've known all year.

Take away a cheap, yet strategic onside kick that led to a field goal by the Packers and that is another possession for the Rams. On the other side of the ball, change an aggressive play-call by Jeff Fisher to go for it on fourth down early in the second quarter at the Green Bay 14-yard line and it may have been a different ball game. A stop on a 3rd-and-7 conversion by the Packers with less than seven minutes on the clock would have also changed the game.

But regardless of the mistakes or the questionable calls by the Rams, you have to look at it in a different perspective. This is a team that has been awful for the past several years, barring a 7-9 finish in 2010. Yet they put the association behind them and are playing a new breed of football.

St. Louis is a tough and very young team that is not only learning a new system under a new head coach, they are also learning to play together as an entirely new unit in which injuries have already started to take their toll, mainly on the offensive line.

At 3-4 so far, the Rams could very easily be 5-2 as they suffered heartbreaking losses to the Lions and Dolphins earlier in the season. Either way, the organization and fans alike should have something to look forward to as the Rams continue to impress. Still very much alive in the NFC West, St. Louis is more competitive than in years past, and a hard fought loss to the Packers does not define who they are in 2012.