The St. Louis Rams flew over 4,000 miles and got whipped 45-7 by the New England Patriots. The Patriots simply crushed the Rams’ spirit and dominated the game. The Rams came out the gate strong, striking quickly against the Patriots defense -and that was it. After the 50-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide out Chris Givens, the Rams offense didn’t manage a single point. The defense, on the other hand, gave up 45 straight points.
This was the first (and I hope the last) game like this for the Rams this 2012 season. The most disappointing thing about the loss was the play of the defense. The Rams run defense got punked by the Patriots offensive line. Defensive ends Robert Quinn and Chris Long were nonexistent, getting no pressure or even touching Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. All game long Quinn and Long constantly attempted the same push rush that caused them to get pushed out of the television screen and into your living room.
Linebacker James Laurinitas had a bad game as well. He looked lost on defense. Both safeties Quintin Mikell and Craig Dahl are just awful. Neither one can make a play. Patriots Ron Gronkowski just had his way with Mikell running past him time and time again en route to a massive average of 18.3 yards per catch. As for Craig Dahl…Nevermind. Cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Bradley Fletcher suffered 1st degree burns as former Rams receiver Brandon Lloyd caught two touchdown passes. Fletcher got whistled on three different occasions for pass interference and dropped an interception inside of the red zone.
What about special teams? Not much other than they didn’t get a lot of chances, except for one and the snap was mishandled. As a whole the entire trip to England was a disaster. So where do they go from here? The Rams presently sit 3-5 and as I stated in a previous column the schedule only gets rougher.
Following the bye week, the Rams will face the San Francisco 49ers. I’m looking forward to this game because I want to see how the Rams will respond after getting totally embarrassed. I want to see if the defense will return to its form from earlier in the season, when they hit you in the mouth, cussed you out, and made you like it. Better yet make a play and force a turnover. Get a sack on the quarterback. If the Rams lose to the 49ers, Coach Jeff Fisher should think about playing some of the younger players now and see what they’re about. Players like Brian Quick, Isaiah Pead and Trumaine Johnson should see the field more. What do they have to lose besides football games?
