Just hours before kickoff of the St. Louis Rams’ game against the Buffalo Bills at the Edwards Jones Dome, I could feel a certain buzz down on the field.
The players were warming up as usual. The music was blasting through the speakers. The stands were slowly being filled by anxious fans. A lot of the fans that attended the game had mixed emotions. Should I. Or should I not root for my home team. With a win, there is a chance that head coach Scott Linehan may live to coach another week in the NFL.
But, if he were to lose the game he would be fired. It was just that simple. Respected Sports Illustrated writer Peter King also reported that Scott Linehan had to win or else. Unfortunately for Scott Linehan, his team was unable to win for him against the Buffalo Bills.
Quarterback Trent Green was marginal at best only completing 6 of 14 passes for a modest 62 yards. But, he looked confident the entire time. His presence provided the Rams with a little spark. That didn’t go unnoticed by the partisan crowd either. The fans inside the dome gave the Rams something that they haven’t heard in a long time, and that’s a standing ovation.
The defense was very solid early on in the game. Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards will be having nightmares about defensive end Leonard Little, after being chased and harassed for most of the first half. Then safety O. J. Atogwe caught the Rams first interception of the season. Now, the crowd is getting louder, the defense is feeding off the energy. The St.Louis Rams are starting to look like a football team now. That was until the Rams failed to cash in on the easy pick by Atogwe.
Then the second half came and the St. Louis Rams went. And that’s when we saw the difference between a team that is poised and battle tested, compared to a team that finds a way to lose. Buffalo continued to keep pounding the football and it lead to a 22-yard touchdown run. Then hell broke loose on the Rams again when Trent Green threw a momentum swinging interception that was returned for a touchdown, giving the Bills the lead to stay at 20-14.
At that point the Rams started to unravel like a cheap piece of foil on a bar-b-que plate. The Buffalo Bills never looked back and went on to give the Rams another bitter defeat. Linehan’s press conference was short after the game. I got the impression that he knows his fate. And he is ready to except it. The outcome of this game shouldn’t have an effect on whether the Rams should fire the head coach or not.
Angry fans are calling the talk shows demanding that Scott Linehan be fired. There was one fan so irate that Linehan is still the coach, went as far as to organize a march to get him fired. Is it that serious? Marches should be used for more useful things. Besides it makes a mockery of all the marches that help transcend America. Especially, in the African American community.
As I step slowly down off my soapbox, let me remind those that the St.Louis Rams have a bye next week. There are a lot of people including myself that are ready for the Rams to say good-bye to the coach. We all got our wish on Monday, when Linehan was fired and replaced by defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, who will try to make something out of this big mess he helped create in the next 12 games.
Good luck, Coach Haslett.
Any questions or comments, email me at Livnlegend@hotmail.com.