The St. Louis Rams were on the brink of victory against the Seattle Seahawks. For most of the game the sparse home crowd saw what a competitive football team looks like. Rams quarterback Marc Bulger had a decent game. He made some tough throws, including the 21-yard touchdown strike to Torry Holt on the first drive of the game. That’s right. Since the game was blacked out you missed an impressive first series by the St.Louis Rams offense.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Then when the defense came out and forced the Seattle Seahawks to punt, the Rams turned into the team we love to loathe when Derek Stanley fumbled the ball and had it returned for a touchdown. But the Rams didn’t collapse, not yet anyway. The blacked-out audience missed an impressive 18-play, 96-yard drive that resulted into a touchdown. The Rams’ defense was very aggressive in harassing Seahawk quarterback Seneca Wallace.
Now, the Rams defense is playing with swagger. They have a lead going into the second half. This team was in foreign territory. Because, week after week, the Rams were playing come from behind football. So there is no excuse for letting this game go to hell in a hand basket.
The offense went vanilla. The defense went on vacation. The sparse crowd filed out the building once the Seahawks tied the game at 20 apiece. The sense in the building was the Rams were going to find a way to lose. And they never seem to let us down.
So the questions mount again about the future of interim head coach Jim Haslett. Do you feel for the guy? Yes, without a doubt. However, despite the fact he was dealt a bad hand when he took over for the departed Scott Linehan, Jim Haslett was responsible for some of the talent on the field on the defensive side of the ball.
He played a hand in the drafting of cornerback Tye Hill, who is injured for the rest of the season with a whopping total of three interceptions over three seasons.
He played a hand in the safe pick of defensive tackle Adam Carriker, who is undersized playing the tackle position and is rarely heard from during the game. I personally think they ruined him not letting him play his natural position at defensive end as he did in college.
Let’s not forget about the obsession with cornerback Fahkir Brown, who has made a fool out of Jim Haslett week in and week out. That was the only smart thing Scott Linehan ever did was cut Fahkir Brown.
As I said last time, the St. Louis Rams need to move in a brand new direction. Clean house. The job of head coach here in St. Louis is not a glamour job right now. That’s why you will not see a Bill Cowher or Marty Schottenheimer. You could see a Rex Ryan from the Baltimore Ravens. Or Russ Grimm from the Arizona Cardinals, I wouldn’t rule out the other Arizona Cardinal Todd Haley, who is the offensive coordinator and the man responsible for that franchise to become playoff bound.
The Rams have two games left and they better start working on the future now. Because, the draft will be here before you notice. Then maybe, just maybe we won’t have as many blackouts next year.
Any questions or comments email me at Livnlegend@hotmail.com.
