The roller coaster St. Louis Rams football season is in the upward position again.
They beat another playoff-bound team in the New Orleans Saints, 27-16. The Rams owned the Saints from the very beginning of the football game. On Drew Brees’ first pass attempt, he was hit by Robert Quinn. Not only is Quinn a Pro-Bowler, but he should get a few MVP votes. I know he won’t win, but he is very worthy of the recognition.
When Leonard Little’s career was winding down, a lot of us wondered who was going to be their next cornerstone defensive end. Quinn has proven without a doubt he is one of the best in the NFL.
He was so dominating on Sunday, Saints coach Sean Payton pulled his left tackle. Former Rams general manager Bill DeVaney can boast about his job drafting talent during his tenure in St. Louis because Quinn was his guy. Quinn has it all, and his play up front makes all the difference for the Rams.
Speaking about the general manager position: How about Les Snead having the foresight to draft two more running backs in the draft back in April? Snead hit a home run so far with this picks. Zach Stacy, the fifth-round running back, ran all over the New Orleans Saints defense.
Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is now infamously known for turning down the Rams’ job and disappearing inside a McDonalds across the street from the Rams’ facility to have a Big Mac. Too bad for Ryan. Had the burly, bearded defensive coordinator taken the job here, he would have grown to 400 lbs. You do know McDonalds runs those Big Mac promotions, buy one get one free during the baseball playoffs. That’s his loss. Go, Cards.
Anyway, Zac Stacy has been a lifesaver for the Rams’ offense. His ability to consistently move the chains and keep the Rams in third-and-short conversions is one reason they have been able to win a few games with Sam Bradford out for the season.
The Rams third-down efficiency was at 50 percent, while the Saints were held to 33 percent. Keeping with the efficiency, Kellen Clemens completed 14 of 20 passes with two touchdowns and no turnovers. He didn’t get sacked, because the offensive line bounced back from a less than stellar performance last week against the Arizona Cardinals.
Brian Schottenhiemer actually called a good game for the offense. He kept the Saints guessing. The Rams also used a lot of motion, and that really helped open up some lanes for Stacy to run through. Don’t know why it took so long. Let’s see if this little wrinkle can become a staple of the offense.
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