As the regular season has come to a close, the St. Louis Rams finished the season 7-9.
As expected, the Rams came out fighting in the last game of the season against the Seattle Seahawks. However, the Seahawks won the fight on the scoreboard. It was almost a carbon copy of last year’s finale in Seattle when the Rams were hit with 14 penalties for 98 yards. In this year’s final game, Jeff Fisher’s team accumulated 12 penalties for 87 yards.
How could I forget the ejection of Kendall Langford? I really love the fact that the Rams are tough and will be damned if they get pushed around. But, at some point they are going to have to channel this inner fire that gets them seeing yellow flags thrown in their direction frequently. This is an area in need of stark improvement if the Rams ever wish to become a serious playoff contender.
Despite the Rams’ failing again to reach that elusive .500 mark, you saw a lot of encouraging signs for the future this season. Rookies Alec Ogletree and Zac Stacy had great rookie seasons and were key contributors. Another young player, Tim Barnes, did a solid job playing center with Scott Wells out with an injury.
Trumaine Johnson, Rodney McLeod, and TJ McDonald were all better than expected in the secondary, while Janoris Jenkins had a rough season and didn’t perform close to the level he did last season.
Robert Quinn only got one sack against Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Quinn finished the season with 19 sacks. He has become, not just the face of the defense, but in many ways the face of the Rams.
Kellen Clemens and his Tasmanian devil quarterback adventures were entertaining and maddening to watch at the same time. I never gave the Rams chance to win another game with Sam Bradford injured. But, give Clemens credit. He battled. But when he put the ball in the air, you never knew what to expect: a pass completion, interception or football hitting the beer vendor. I didn’t realize how much Sam Bradford would be missed.
The day wasn’t a total loss for the Rams. They will now have the second overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. So even though the Rams season may be over, in reality it has just begun. At least the draft clock has started ticking.
Happy New Year. Be safe!
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