Can the Rams beat the Packers?

 

Just typing that sentence seems weird. The Rams have exactly seven points this season. They have exactly one sack. Their quarterback is averaging a miniscule 4.94 yards per pass attempt, worst in the league. Their supposed leading receiver has been terrible.

 

Kick-off returns – terrible. (16.2 yards per return, second worst in the league)

 

Clock management – terrible. (A Martzian waste of their final timeout on Sunday to avoid a delay of game which they ended up getting anyway on a punt that went into the end zone for a touchback)

 

Third downs – terrible. (8 of 26 on offense, 26th worst; 15 of 30 allowed on defense, 29th worst)

 

And then on the other side you have Green Bay, which remains a serious playoff contender despite losing at home to the Bengals on Sunday (knocking a million schlubs like yours truly out of their survival leagues).

 

The Packers have one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL with Aaron Rodgers, a great receiver duo in Greg Jennings and the ageless Donald Driver, a stud running back in Ryan Grant, and a defense that already has six interceptions in two games, one returned for a touchdown.

 

With all that said, what would you guess the line would be? Nine? Ten?

 

Six and a half.

 

Perhaps Vegas doesn’t like the fact the Packers allowed Cedric Benson of all people to run for 141 yards on 29 caries, or that Bengals DE Antwan Odom, with a career 15.5 sacks in 64 games entering this season, finished this past Sunday with five against the Packers’ sieve of an offensive line.

 

In any event, Vegas has faith that the Rams can make a go of this contest. I’m not sure I agree, but I can tell you that if the Rams don’t improve in these areas, they have no chance whatsoever:

 

 

Donnie Avery: Perhaps it’s a bit harsh to put the total blame for the Washington loss in Avery’s hands, but he fairly well deserves it:

 

* He had a drop that would have given them a first down on their first drive. The ball was a little bit behind Avery, but he got both hands on the ball and should have made the catch.

 

* He got called for a needless block in the back that cost the Rams 13 yards off Steven Jackson’s 61-yard run mid-way through the second quarter. Instead of the ball being placed at the Washington 23, it was at the Washington 36. (The Rams still went on to score their first touchdown of the season).

 

* And then there was the fumble. On third and four from the Washington nine and 13 minutes left in the game, Bulger hit Avery for five yards. But what should have been first and goal four yards from a 14-9 lead turned into Washington ball when Avery fumbled on a hit by Redskins safety Chris Horton. It was Avery’s second fumble of the season – the only two turnovers of the Rams’ season thus far.

 

Based strictly on performance on the field, Avery has been passed by up both leading receiver Laurent Robinson and fellow second-year receiver Keenan Burton. And if the Rams are going to get anywhere this season, Avery has to show up.

 

 

Pass rush: Against Washington, the defensive tackles were getting no push in the middle of the pocket. Even when the Rams were able to bring pressure from the corners, Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was able to step into the pocket and make the throw or break out for a gain on the ground. Some of Clinton Portis’ best runs also came up the gut of the Rams’ d-line.

 

Considering the pathetic performance put up by the Packers line so far (NFL-high 10 sacks allowed, and now missing left tackle Chad Clifton), the Rams’ have to capitalize and force Rodgers to throw before he’s ready. Otherwise, he will pick apart the still-developing Rams secondary.

 

 

Time of Possession: The Rams offense has run a total of 107 plays this season. Opponents have run a combined 140. That’s an average of an extra 16 snaps for opposing offenses, which would explain the time of possession disadvantage: On Sunday, the Washington offense had the ball for nearly 10 minutes more than the St. Louis offense.

 

Considering the Rams defense is hardly what you could consider loaded with depth, that’s going to be more and more of a problem as the season rolls on if the Rams can’t string together some more frequent long drives.

 

 

Randy McMichael: Count me among those who thought McMichael would have a bounce-back year with the Rams, but he’s not showing anything close to that on the field. On the Rams’ third drive, he took a screen from Bulger, took a hit from Rocky McIntosh and gave the ball up to Washington on the Rams’ 17.

 

Now it just so happens the Redskins were called for a ticky tack roughing the passer penalty that gave St. Louis the ball back with a first down, but that play still happened.

 

On the game, McMichael, who also dropped a touchdowns pass late in the second quarter, finished with just two catches for 14 yards and zero impact.

 

 

Mental Toughness: There’s a cliché in sports that teams need to learn how to win. But as with most clichés, there’s an element of truth: Teams who win tough games know how to handle adversity.

 

The Rams don't.

 

When the Rams had a blocked FG return for a tying touchdown against Seattle called back due to a penalty, they instantly imploded and fell down 14-0 within a matter of minutes.

 

And after Avery’s fumble killed the potentially game-winning touchdown against Washington, the Rams got all of three yards on their final seven plays of the game.

 

Bad things happen in football games. The key for good teams is to take the bad things in stride, get past them and not let them impact the rest of the game.

 

 

Honoring Deacon Jones - Kind Of

 

The Rams are going to be retiring the number of former Rams great Deacon Jones this Sunday, and that’s all well and fine. As one of the most feared pass rushers in the history of the game, Jones deserves all the accolades he gets.

 

But retiring his number in a ceremony in St. Louis seems weird … because the only time he played in St. Louis, it was AGAINST the home team St. Louis Cardinals.

 

Jones played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1961 through 1971 before finishing up with two seasons with San Diego and one in Washington.

 

In his time with the then-LA Rams, Jones played played in St. Louis three times:

 

On December 5, 1965, the LA Rams beat the St. Louis Cardinals 27-3.

 

On September 16, 1968, the LA Rams beat the St. Louis Cardinals 24-13.

 

On September 18, 1970, the LA Rams beat the St. Louis Cardinals 34-13.

 

That’s it. That’s the history Deacon Jones has with the city of St. Louis. Was he a great Ram? Yes. But retiring his number with a ceremony at the St. Louis home opener just seems hallow.

 

It would be like the Arizona Cardinals holding a grand ceremony honoring Hall of Fame center Dan Dierdorf, who played his entire career with the franchise while they were still in St. Louis.

 

I mean, what are those fans going to be cheering for? A guy who played for another team 1,500 miles away 40 years ago? How passionate with their appreciation could they be?

 

Now again, this is in no way intended to devalue the career of Deacon Jones. An eight-time Pro Bowler and Hall of Fame inductee in 1980, he deserves to be recognized as one of the all-time greats.

 

I’m just not sure the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday is the right place.

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