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Rams Pulse
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Rams Aim For Super Bowl Return |
The 2011 version of the St. Louis Rams sees a renewed effort to return to the Super Bowl. Some new faces and the swan song for a couple others, teamed with the memory of the disappointing playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, has this year's team refocused. Personal stats will take a back seat to the "just win" philosophy that now starts from the top of the organization.
The addition of CB Johnathan Joseph to an already formidable secondary should make the defense one of the league's best again. First round draft choice DT Alex Hansen is expected to give flexibility to the defensive line. Teamed with Adam Carriker and Tank Johnson, Hansen will provide a three man rotation and insurance against injuries at end with Carriker allowed to backup the ends. At 35, this looks like it may be Leonard Little's final year.
Offensively, QB Jevon Snead was drafted to compete with Vinny Testaverde to back up Chad Pennington and eventually take over the #1 spot when Pennington retires. While the skill positions remain intact, LT Orlando Pace is nearing the end of his career and Anthony Collins will see more playing time now to make that transition smoother.
The 3rd year kicker Sam Swank has had a terrific offseason and looks to take over all kicking duties. Veteran Jeff Wilkins will most likely stay on for his final season as backup. Durant Brooks looks to get back in Pro Bowl form.
The pieces are here but a little luck is always needed to make it to the big game. The focus and dedication to the goal is here and anything less than a championship will be a disappointment. The loss in Green Bay is the motivation and only 18 opponents stand in the Rams' way. Time to start the march. |
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Forum Discussion
(by G_Flynn on 03/07/2010)
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Replies - 8 :: Views - 104 |
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Rams look for "All The Right Moves" part 2 in 2010 |
The 2010 St. Louis Rams are looking to repeat as champions as all teams do. It's going to take hard work and more intuition from GM Flynn if it is to happen. The hard work is the easy part. Intuition and probably luck will be more difficult to come by.
"All The Right Moves" was the Rams 2009 season. Starting with the offseason acquisitions of starters Boss Bailey and Fabian Washington from the Raiders, th Rams then dealt QB Marc Bulger to the Jets for C Nick Mangold and eventual SimBowl IX MVP Chad Pennington. The huge cap hit of Bulger and the inclusion of Mangold made the two day negotiations a struggle. This trade really tied the hands of the Rams for the rest of the year with very little room to make roster moves.
Free Agancy was mostly a gold mine for the Rams as Flynn found '09 Pro Bowlers P Durant Brooks, FB Desmond Clark, and starters RE Ray Edwards and WR Ashley Lelie waiting for phone calls. Pro Bowl WR Jerome Mathis was found on the far end of the Rams own bench.
The season started in St. Louis with a shutout of the Seahawks and victories over the Vikings, Bucs, 49ers, and a late come back win in Detroit. Week 6 brought the end of the dreams of the undefeated season with the Colts putting down the Rams 33-30. Now maybe luck or intuition led to the starting of rookie QB Vinny Testaverde against the Seahawks on awindy and rainy afternoon. Early in the second quarters Testaverde gets sacked for the third time and is carried off with a regular season ending broken collarbone. Pennington comes in to rally the Rams from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to win 14-10. The consensus is that Penny is much more fragile than the strapping Testaverde and may have luckily avoided a career ending hit that the rookie took in his place.
In week 10 against the Eagles, '08 Pro Bowler and current NFC sack leader LE Leonard Little wishes his teammates good luck from the stretcher taking him off with his season ending collarbone break. Instead of finding a replacement for Little, Flynn goes out and trades her first round pick to Atlanta for HB Jerious Norwood. Little's backup rookie Leon Seals played great against the Packers, collecting 2 sacks , but was overmatched in a loss to the Titans in week 12.
As the mighty Bears loomed ahead, the Rams moved DT Adam Carriker to LE and second year DT Barry Booker into Carriker's starting spot. The two DLs responded with 7 sacks between them and 2 safeties for Carriker(a new USL record). This game also saw Penny go down but not out. Backup QB Jared Zabransky came in to lead the Rams going 14 for 17 for 159 yards. All personal bests for the youngster.
After receiving a BEATING at the hands of the Cardinals in week 15, the season ending match with Arizona would decide the division. Despite the dominance of the Cards again in the onfield play, an 86 yard fumble return by Washington and TD catches of 64 and 42 yards by WR Ashley Lelie brought home the division title 38-30.
The playoffs brought the Cardinals back to St. Louis for round 3. Lady Luck may have blessed the Rams again as a first quarter sack by Carriker knocked Pro Bowl QB Matt Leinartout of the game. Matt Cassel did a superb job replacing Leinart but a 55 yard INT return by ROLB Pisa Tinoisamoa and a 101 yard KO return by Dante Hall helped the Rams escape with a 41-39 victory. The NFC championship game found the Rams' LOLB Boss Bailey return an INT 25 yards for a TD and HB Steven Jackson catch a 46 yard TD early. The Redskins' QB Brady Quinn and WR Chad Ocho Cinco put up a furious fourth quarter comeback, but fell short 27-20.
Before the playoffs started, GM Flynn was overheard talking with Bears GM Chris Orosz, saying "The first round pick for Norwood looked like a bad deal now but IF by chance, Steven Jackson goes down, Norwood could be the difference between winning and losing a champioship."
SimBowl IX showed her to be a prophet. Steven Jackson was lost for the game with an ankle injury early in the first quarter and Jerious Norwood came in to help MVP Chad Pennington control the clock and take advantage of a very uncharacteristic Chargers 3 first quarter turnovers. Norwood's 71 yards on 22 carries and Penny's 30 of 44 for 380 yards helped the Rams eat up almost 33 minutes of game clock. Ashley Lelie finished with 12 catches for 156 yards and a TD and MLB Will Witherspoon contributed a fumble recovery and an INT. Even with the early 17-3 lead, the nailbiting would not end until the last minute of the game. The 2-time defending champion Chargers were always a couple of "Madden" plays away from stealing the game back.
The 36-24 final score was the finish of the magical Rams championship season. Were the key moves luck or women's intuition? Flynn's not saying either is the answer but is hoping there's some magic left for the upcoming 2010 season. With almost all the starters back, optimism is high in St. Louis. Let's hope Lady Luck likes it here too.  |
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Forum Discussion
(by G_Flynn on 03/28/2009)
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Replies - 2 :: Views - 44 |
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The RAM TOUGH Report by Buck Force |
The Rams GM was brought called us to get things out in the open about this season and last season to clear up some rumors and how they plan on the future happenings of the Rams organization.
Q. Good Morning GM Dupree. Thanks for having us at your office today. As you know you called us to clear up some matters that we, the city, has been looking to you for answers all year long. Can you give us a short answer on what you want to address today?
A. Sure. We are still pissed at the playoffs from last year. We felt that we were cheated and that's just how we felt. We don't feel that we should be ridiculed for feeling this way.....and this season has been nothing short of disappointing in the way that the game has been played and the players have reacted to last year's changes.
Q. As a city, we were disturbed due to the playoffs situation last year also but why haven't you been able to move past that yet?
A. We have tried and are almost over that situation. It's hard when you have the best record in the league (15-1) and then even have the lead in a playoff game to where the game disconnects and it is replayed to where you lose. It's killed us in the entire off season and is reflected in this year's record. But we will rebound soon.
Q. So what has happened to this year's team? Why is it doing so poorly?
A. Inconsistency. We have youngsters starting at the CB spots and our offense isn't hitting on that much. Bulger was hurt early in the season which didn't happen last year and again it seems that inconsistency is the #1 thing. We thought that we were going to do good..maybe not 15-1 but at least repeat as division champions but the way that the season has played out.....if we end up with a winning record, it would be a miracle.
Q. Have you given up on the season?
A. No we haven't given up but we are tinkering with a few things. It doesn't make sense to let the young talent go by the wayside allowing the older vets to get playing time in losing situations. We will condense our playbook to where the youngsters can get playing time and maybe we can see something for next year.
Q. The 49ers (this weeks opponent ) are at the top of the division. Anything that they are doing remind you of the Rams last year.
A. Sure, they are winning. They have somehow been able to get by the league with some glitch in the gameplan system and the league has allowed it. We didn't have any glitches last year when we did well. Honestly it's a shame that they have gotten away with it for so long but that's how the cookie crumbles.
Q. Are you calling the 49ers a cheat?
A. No, we are just saying that the 49ers were smart enough to recognize a glitch in the game plan system to do as well as they have and we commend them on it. Especially for continuing to do it while the rest of the just watches it..that is what makes it laughable.
Q. Any surprises on this year's team and how will that affect you in the offseason?
A. We will look to get even younger in the off season. Some vets will go while some will become role players. I really don't know who is moving where yet but it will happen.
Q. Your defensive backfield starts Tye Hill, Johnathan Wade, and two young safeties. Did you think that they would be producing a lot better?
A. Actually yes. Wade in other leagues is a budding star back there at CB while Hill is just amazing. Starting Sabby Piscitelli at the Safety spot was again something that we had seen others do in other leagues and with him not getting any interceptions to this point is really disappointing.
Q. Revisiting an earlier question...what conclusion have you come to on this year's team?
A. We lack in getting turnovers, we lack in pressuring the ball, we lack intensity on both sides of the ball and it's major frustrating. I feel especially sorry for our veterans because they have been here in the thick of things for all those years and for this team to look this poor at this time of the year is just pitiful.
Q. You have a history of developing winners in the Coaching leagues. Do you think that you can do the same in this league?
A. I can and I have proven that we have been able to win. Right now, it's a little harder with the youth that we have included in this year's lineup but we will be fine.
Q. GM Dupree, we thank you for your candid statements and I know this will go a long way with the city. Would you like to add anything for this piece that you didn't add to today?
A. No I think I just about answered everything that I wanted to address. I want the fans of the team to know that the way things are going for the league, we will be ok but it will take a little more time than what I thought. The Rams are tough and will rebound but look to the future and understand that our "us against the world mentality" is going to make us or break us. |
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Forum Discussion
(by W_Dupree on 07/21/2008)
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Replies - 4 :: Views - 45 |
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At A Glance
| INJURY REPORT |
| PLAYER |
POS |
OVR |
LENGTH |
| NFC West |
| RNK |
TEAM |
W-L-T |
PCT |
DIV |
| #4 |
 Rams |
6-1-0 |
0.857 |
2-0 |
| #11 |
 49ers |
4-2-0 |
0.667 |
2-1 |
| #9 |
 Cardinals |
4-2-0 |
0.667 |
2-2 |
| #31 |
 Seahawks |
1-6-0 |
0.143 |
0-3 |
| RAMS SCHEDULE |
| WK |
DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME/RESULT |
| 1 |
Sep 8 |
vs  Eagles #28 |
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| 2 |
Sep 15 |
vs  Cowboys #18 |
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| 3 |
Sep 22 |
vs Cardinals #9 |
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| 4 |
Sep 29 |
at  Redskins #21 |
|
| 5 |
Oct 6 |
vs  Bengals #5 |
|
| 6 |
Oct 13 |
vs 49ers #11 |
|
| 7 |
Oct 20 |
at  Browns #8 |
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| 8 |
Oct 27 |
at  Falcons #6 |
4:15pm |
| 10 |
Nov 10 |
vs Seahawks #31 |
1:00pm |
| 11 |
Nov 17 |
at 49ers #11 |
4:15pm |
| 12 |
Nov 24 |
vs  Steelers #26 |
4:15pm |
| 13 |
Dec 1 |
at  Giants #16 |
1:00pm |
| 14 |
Dec 8 |
at  Ravens #14 |
4:00pm |
| 15 |
Dec 16 |
vs  Lions #20 |
9:00pm |
| 16 |
Dec 21 |
at Cardinals #9 |
4:05pm |
| 17 |
Dec 29 |
at Seahawks #31 |
4:05pm |
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#4 St. Louis Rams
