Washington Redskins vs. St. Louis Rams: The Running Diary...First Half

Today the Rams take on the Washington Redskins.  Instead of doing the same old "five halftime adjustments" article I've been doing, I decided to mix it up.  I'm going to give you my running diary of the game, just one fan's perspective of the game from his couch.

So I've got my feet propped up, I'm eating some pizza, and I've turned my filter off.  Here is the unedited version of my account of the game...

11:55 am - The game is about to start.  I see the commercial where the five year old boy dunks the ball. I show it to my own five year old son, who loves basketball, and ask him "Why can't you dunk?"  He decides he needs to work on his hops, and that is a good thing.

12:01  - Our broadcasters today are Chris Myers and Tim Allen.  While doing the Rams' starters, Allen points out that Harvey Daul, the Rams' starting RG, has a "great beard."  That is some in depth commentary there.  Moving on...

12:05 - The Rams come out pounding the Redskins with the run.  Steven Jackson rips off a couple of nice runs, and the Rams are moving the ball.  Injuries are part of football, but Jackson is proving that the Rams could easily be 2-1 or 1-2 if he hadn't got hurt.

12:07 - False start, No. 76, starting LT Roger Saffold...penalties are drive killers.  The Rams are the second most penalized team in the league.  All of a sudden, 3rd-and-7 becomes 3rd-and-12.

12:08 - I bet the Rams run some little dink and dunk pass...yep, as I type this, Jackson catches a ball out of the backfield and is tackled short of the first down.  Disappointing start to the game.

12:11 - Redskins QB Rex Grossman throws a strike on the Redskins' first play of the game.  First down.  The Rams just look flat, flat, flat right now.

12:13 - The Redskins are a running team, but they have come out pass, pass and play action pass.  It seems to me that the Redskins are trying to attack Rams CB Justin King.  I would attack him too.  He gave up three TDs in the first quarter last week to Ravens' WR Torrey Smith.

12:15 - Rams get a third down stop, Redskins 4th-and-4 to go...the Redskins go for it...false Start by the Redskins.  That was huge.  4th-and-9, Redskins punt.

12:17 - Austin Pettis fields the Redskins punt inside the 10 yard line, his first mistake.  He also didn't signal fair catch, his second mistake.  Pettis just got hit drilled on the catch.  That brings up another point, "why is Austin Pettis fielding punts?"  This Rams' roster is just a mess.  We have a guy fielding punts that hasn't done it since high school.

12:21 - Rams pass on first down...dropped by Mike Sims-Walker.  Tim Allen tells us that the Rams lead the NFL in dropped passes with 10.  Second down, Jackson runs for five yards.  Third down, Sims-Walker drops another pass.  So the Rams lead the NFL in drops and are second in penalties?  And our WRs are not elite athletes that can create separation in the first place?  Yep, that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

12:22 - Allen tells us being around the Rams reminds him of "preseason football."  Ouch, the truth hurts.

12:27 - The Redskins are marching.  They are starting to run the ball, and Grossman is picking the Rams apart on third down.  That last sentence is not a typo.  Rex Grossman is picking the Rams apart.  How bad is Justin King? 

12:31 - Roy Helu, the rookie RB out of Nebraska, is just pounding the Rams' D right now.  Helu was a fourth round pick.  The Redskins moved up in the 4th round to get him.  The Rams stood pat and picked up rookie WR Greg Salas, who is on the inactive list for the Rams this week. 

Just another example of how the Rams have drafted poorly over the last three years.  I know they've picked Bradford, Lauranitis, Long, Saffold, etc...they have done a decent job with the first and second round guys. 

But the picks you build your team with, those third, fourth, fifth round guys, Rams GM Billy Devaney has really, really struggled.  When is somebody else going to point this out?

12:33 - Grossman to Santana Moss, TD Redskins.  Who was covering?  Justin King.  Yes, the Rams secondary is HORRIBLE.

12:36 - The Rams are starting to march the ball down the field.  Fox just showed a graphic where Bradfrod is the "most pressured" QB in the NFL, getting sacked/hit/hurried on 30 percent of his throws.  So we lead the league in drops, we can't protect our QB, and we are second in penalties.  It's all starting to add up now...the Rams might start the season 0-9.  That is a very real possibility.

12:42 - Sam Bradford just threw a ball that literally hit Mike Sims-Walker in the hand.  It was an over the shoulder, deep pass that was perfect.  It hit Sims-Walker right in the hand, and of course, he dropped it.  If he catches that ball, the score is 7-7.  We cut Donnie Avery, and these are the guys we kept?  How bad is Donnie Avery if he is worse than these guys?

12:51 - The Rams just got a third down stop.  Stop the presses, the Rams just got a third down stop.  Darian Stewart broke up the pass.  After the punt, the Rams have the ball back inside their own 30. 

12:55 - Bradford misses a pass on third down...he got hit again.  The thing I'll say for Bradford, he is holding the ball as long as he can, waiting for guys to get open.  The problem is, the only two guys that can consistently get open are rookie TE Lance Kendricks and second year WR Danario Alexander. 

12:56 - Did I mention that Kendricks has dropped a ton of passes, and Alexander's knee is made out of cooked spaghetti?  Those are Bradford's top two weapons.  Yikes.

12:58 - Chris Myers just gave us this nugget of information: "The Rams came into the game leading the league in missed tackles."  So we lead the league in missed tackles, dropped passes, getting our QB killed and we're second in penalties?  What are they doing at practice?  Playing Uno?  It's official.  I'm putting Steve Spagnulo on the hot seat.

1:01 - Austin Pettis, the Rams rookie WR, just caught another punt without signaling fair catch.  He got CRUSHED on the hit, fumbling the ball.  The refs threw a flag for unnecessary roughness. 

Personally, I thought the ref felt sorry for Pettis, since it's the second time this game he has made such a stupid mistake.  Do the Rams not have a special teams coach?  Has nobody told Pettis that he can fair catch?  Again, why is Austin Pettis fielding punts?  He didn't do it in college!   What did you expect?

1:04 - With the penalty, the Rams are in good shape, starting on the Washington side of the 50 yard line.  First play, Bradford to Illinois Mike, and he drops a perfect pass.  It would have been a 20-plus yard gain.  This is the fourth drop of the game!  Unbelievable.

1:05 - On a 4th-and-1, Bradford rolls right and hits Austin Pettis for a short gain.  First Down!  In unrelated news, Pettis didn't call for a fair catch.

1:07 - Jason Smith just gets called for a hold, pushing the Rams out of field goal range.  You're telling me that this guy was the second rated player in the draft?  It's a joke how bad he has played this year. 

1:08 - Ryan Kerrigan beats Smith again, hits Bradford from behind and forces a fumble.  Redskins ball.  Spags, what does Smith have to do to lose his job?  Does Bradford have to wind up in the hospital? 

Think about it this way...the Rams might be the worst team in the NFL.  If Bradford goes down, they are the worst team in the NFL.  What would they do with the No. 1 pick?  What a dilemma.  Luck or Bradford?

1:11 - The Redskins third string RB comes in and runs for a TD.  These Redskins RBs are typical Mike Shanahan running backs.  It's "stretch" and then "one cut."  They don't dance.  They hit a hole and run hard.  14-0 Redskins.

1:13 - Watching the Rams move the ball...everything is inside a 10 yard box...nothing deep.  It's like Rams' OC Josh McDaniels knows the WRs suck and the o-line can't buy Bradford time.

1:17 - Watching Bradford, I can't help but imagine...the guy is so talented...what could he do if he had the talent around him some other young QBs have?  Stafford has weapons in Detroit.  Flacco has weapons in Baltimore.  Same for Freeman (Tampa) and Ryan (Atlanta).  Look at Sanchez and the Jets.  Bradford has NOTHING.   

1:29 - Pettis fielded another punt...guess what?  Yep, no fair catch.  Fumble.  Unnecessary Roughness.  Maybe this is part of the plan?  "Pettis, let them kill you, and we'll get 15 yards."

1:30 - My wife, who knows nothing about football, saw the replay of Pettis getting killed and said "Owwwwwww!"  Yeah, Pettis is going to need an ice bath.

1:31 - Bradford sacked, again.  Rams will be 0-9.  Mark it down.

1:33 - Halftime, Redskins 14-0