MVN: Most Valuable Network

Although the St. Louis Rams finished out their 2008 season with a 31-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, much can be taken away from this final contest.

 

- Rams cornerback Ron Bartell made a play that every football coach at any level references at least once a season.  On what looked like a sure touchdown run for stud Falcons running back Michael Turner, Bartell did not give up on the play and managed to track down the back at the two yard line, strip the ball, and recover the fumble!  While the validity of the fumble call was questionable, the amount of effort and desire that Bartell exhibited can never be doubted.  Bartell has proven himself to be a valuable piece of this franchise and hopefully the Rams are able to hold on to him for a long time.

 

- Oft criticized running back Steven Jackson played a game that reminds us all what a thrilling player he has the ability to be.  His stat line for the day was pretty impressive: 30 rushes for 161 yards and two touchdowns, not to mention four receptions for 54 yards.  However, Jackson's most stellar moment came in the fourth quarter as he caught a flare pass out of the backfield with one hand and proceeded to jump-hurdle himself over a defender who was nearly standing upright!  Fans and writers alike often forget the mindblowing athleticism of a player like Steven Jackson, but for a man who stands 6'2" tall and weighs 235 pounds to in essence, toss himself over another grown man as said man attempts to tackle him is truly amazing.  Jackson just played Sunday's game with a sense of urgency largely unseen this season.

 

- Sunday's contest might have been the last time Rams fans see interim coach Jim Haslett on the sidelines, but apparently most of the Rams themselves do not wish this to be the case.  Several players stated openly that they were playing for Haslett's job.  An anonymous player on the team even divulged the fact that many of the players on the team signed a petition to give to the front office in order that Haslett might be retained as coach.  Such fantastic outpourings of affection for ones coach are few and far between in the NFL and while the team still did not win this final game, I could argue that it was their best this season (they beat the Cowboys soundly, but Dallas appeared lethargic and unprepared for their game against the Rams while the Falcons were playing for a higher playoff seeding and were focused throughout, yet the Rams only lost by four.)

 

The season is finished.  2-14 record; worst ever in franchise history (since a 16 game schedule was introduced).  Ten game losing streak to close the season; opponents scored slightly more than twice as many points as the Rams did this season, 465 against, 232 for.  Both of these tallies rank only in front of the winless Detroit Lions and have secured the Rams the 2^nd pick in the NFL draft this coming spring.  Those are the facts.  This year is over and the Rams would be best to put it behind them as soon as possible (other than to use it as motivation to prepare for the 2009 season) so as to avoid a hangover into next season.

 

The Rams have a new GM in Billy Devaney who clearly has some crucial decisions to make in the coming weeks, namely who the head coach of this team will be.  Haslett looks to be the favorite amongst players, even though he presided over the ten game losing streak.  But he was certainly a motivating factor in the wins over the Redskins and Cowboys and he also seemed to provide a spark in the close losses to the Patriots and this past week against the Falcons.  If Haslett does get the job, one can only hope that his motivational abilities will translate into victories, not just great hustle plays and a couple big performances.  If Haslett is not the answer, there are several very appealing choices lingering.  The freshly fired Mike Shanahan and Eric Mangini are appealing options as is the head coach-turned announcer who seems to be interested in coaching again, Bill Cowher.  The allure of hiring draft-free agent-team-turn-around-football-guru Bill Parcells must also be high seeing as the Rams player personnel selections have been poor at best in the past five to seven years, which is a huge part of the reason why this franchise has won five games in the past two seasons.

 

No matter what direction Devaney chooses to go in, this will certainly be an interesting off season; and I for one, cannot wait.

In a lot of ways, the 2008 St. Louis Rams season has been the most depressing sporting experience of my life.  That is saying a lot considering the fact that my college football team (which I played on for two seasons) was 9-31 during my four years and I passionately followed my girlfriend's basketball team which rounded out our collegiate experience with a 36-74 record.   The struggles of this team have been excruciatingly well documented, but in case you missed anything, here's a quick rundown of the season thusfar.  The Rams lose their first four of the season, all in blowout fashion; getting outscored 147-43.  The team takes its bye week and promptly fires head coach Scott Linehan; hard-ass-Jim-Haslett takes the reins and leads the team to victories over the Redskins and Cowboys, even getting into a shoving match with a Redskins defensive back.  Since then, the Rams have... Read more

For my game summary this week, I am trying a new format (for me, not new to the world); the "running commentary."  I watched yesterday's Rams/ 49ers game with my friend Ben, wrote out all my observations and comments as we took in the action live.  This is my attempt to make it all into a coherent column.       Thank you St. Louis Rams fans!   Because today's game was blacked out in Saint Louis my buddy Ben and I decided to head downtown in an attempt to buy scalped tickets outside of the Edward Jones Dome.  As we walked several blocks in the frigid afternoon air, probably about seven to eight degrees around noon, we feared that the bitter cold would keep the sellers at home to just cut their losses, but surely enough, we made eye contact with a man holding up two tickets from across... Read more

Barney Rubble? Trouble? Yup, the Rams are in Barney.   Quick, tell me the last time the St. Louis Rams, heck even the Los Angeles Rams, finished a season with a 2-14 record? Wait for it... wait for it...     That's right, never.  The closest this franchise has come to 2-14 was 1-12-1 in 1962, when they didn't even play a 16 game schedule!  To be fair, the Rams have two games remaining, one of which looks to be potentially winnable.  With that said, this past week's game against the Seahawks looked to be our best chance to equal last season's three-win-plateau.  You know the franchise is in trouble when we are struggling to match the win total from the worst seasons (the Rams also had just three wins in 1991) in the last two decades. But, as I have tried to do all season, I am going to look for the silver... Read more

This cry can be heard from every corner of Saint Louis. This jewel of the midwest is beating its collective breast in agony because the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team is missing out on some big name free agents.  Oh, what's that you say?  The St. Louis Rams still have three more games?  The vast majority of Rams "fans" checked out weeks ago.  Doing so certainly would have saved on much heartbreak in the midst of this seven game losing streak.  But some of us are here for the long haul, no matter how long it takes to regain legitimacy. As has been the case all season long, the Rams absolutely killed themselves with turnovers which is also a direct cause of the other glaring issue with this team, no point production.  The Rams did score a touchdown in this game, but coughed up two fumbles and threw an interception. ... Read more

Key #1 - Stop the Bleeding.  The 2008 Saint Louis Rams defense has been able to stop very few opponents from imposing their will, this week looks to be no different.  Hardly anyone in the NFL has been able to impede the offensive vehicle of the Arizona Cardinals being driven by a rejuvenated Kurt Warner, who has thrust himself into the MVP conversation, at quarterback.  Of course, Warner has not put together his stellar season alone, he has one of the best and deepest wide receiving corps in the league led by Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.  The production of the Cardinals' offensive unit is also bolstered by the electrifying play of emerging rookie running back Tim Hightower.  One can only hope that the Rams defense is able to keep this contest close, but Arizona will be playing inspired football as a victory will clinch the NFC West division title for... Read more

As callous as it sounds, I have never been one to respect and/ or honor kickers very much.  But seeing just how often Josh Brown has been called into duty and responded has created in me a great deal of gratitude for his, and the service of all kickers.  Now, as I have said before, when your kicker's performance is consistently the high point of your team's performance there are substantial problems. Clearly it does not take a football genius to assess the awfulness of the Saint Louis Rams this season, however, it might take a professor of the pigskin to fix the problems with this franchise. This franchise needs to open up its collective checkbook and sign one or two stellar offensive linemen in this offseason before the draft.  Shoring up the offensive line will allow Steven Jackson to return to the form he dazzled the NFL with just a couple seasons ago.  By enabling... Read more

As the Saint Louis Rams drag themselves towards the conlusion of the 2008 season sporting a 2-9 record with five games remaining, one wonders, how can anything positive come of the rest of this campaign? The answer is simple and yet complex.  Jim Haslett, Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Steven Jackson, Will Witherspoon, Corey Chavous, Tye Hill, Leonard Little, Orlando Pace, Richie Incognito, Alex Barron and any other key figure on this team need to fight.  They must strive to prove themselves in the heat of battle.  This team has lost the fire that Haslett was able to temporarily infuse.  Apparently, he must win at least two of the final five games in order to keep his job for next season.  The stakes might not be as specific for veterans on this roster, but if the afforementioned players and many others do not begin to show some signs of life their jobs will be... Read more

Key #1 - Where's the D?  It certainly seems odd to implicate the Chicago Bears in this discussion, but as of late, neither of these teams have demonstrated the ability to stop opponents from scoring.  The Bears surrendered 37 points in a blowout loss last week; the Rams only gave up 35, but they were all in the first half.  The safe money lies with the pride of linebacker Brian Urlacher, defensive tackle Tommie Harris, safety Mike Brown and the rest of the Bears defensive unit to bounce back from last week's performance and take out their frustrations on the hapless Rams offense. Key #2 - Welcome Home Lovie!  For the second week in a row the St. Louis Rams will be facing an opposing coach that was once a member of their own football family.  Bears head coach Lovie Smith was a well respected and loved defensive coordinator during his... Read more

Key #1 -  Linebackers-Turned-Coaches Square Off.  Two interim, fiercly passionate, ex-NFL linebackers will be coaching the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers in today's game.  Jim Haslett of the Rams has not dropped his pants in a motivational ploy, a la Mike Singletary of the 49ers, but both coaches are similar in that they bring their former styles of play into their positions as head coaches.  Haslett and Singletary have both sparked their respective teams at times and it will be interesting to see how this matchup plays out on the field. Key #2 - Playing to Get out of Last Place.  The Rams, 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks are all stuck in first gear, that is, if their proverbial cars have even started.  All three teams are tied for last place in the NFC West at 2-7.  With Seattle playing the first place Arizona Cardinals today, they are probably looking to... Read more

At just what point in a blowout victory does the game shift into that magical realm known as "garbage time?"  Although most starters were still in the game at the start of the fourth quarter, this game had been decided about midway through the first half as the St. Louis Rams were rendered useless by the New York Jets, spotting their cordial hosts a cool 40 points by the end of the first half.  This monumental loss marks the fifth time this season that the Rams have surrendered 34 points or more.  Even in the only other contest this season when St. Louis has given up 40 (41-13 loss against the New York Giants in week two) they managed to keep the game close until the Giants pulled away at the end, but yesterday's 47-3 shellacking must have created an empty numbness not only on the Rams sideline, but especially now as they... Read more