The St. Louis Rams have been flirting with getting over the .500 mark this season. Again, they fell short in losing to division rival San Francisco 49ers 23-20 in overtime.
The Rams failed to add to their lead in the second half of the game. And that has been the trend for this team on the road this season, where the Rams are still winless.
If you take away the blowout loss against the Detroit Lions, the other four road losses are by a combined total of 10 points. I would venture to say that the Rams and their fan base are happy that the drubbings are not occurring on a weekly basis as in years past, but losing these winnable games on the road are a little maddening.
I mean, when you have a team on the ropes all game long, and you’ve done your job on first and second down, then you force the 49ers into third and long and fourth and long situations, you have to get the ball back.
You have to execute better. You have to game-plan a little better. The Rams’ defense made a lot of plays in the loss last Sunday. However, they didn’t make the ones that they needed most.
Now, the Rams are 4-5 and the 6-2 Atlanta Falcons will be in town this weekend. This is a must win for the Rams if they want to stay alive in a division they should have already clinched by now (if you’re being greedy).
The Seattle Seahawks are now back in first place with a win against another NFC West foe the Arizona Cardinals and if the 49ers pull off another win this Sunday coming up, this season could shape up for an exciting finish.
But, how will the coaching staff do during this stretch run? A lot was made about cornerback Kevin Dockery starting over Bradley Fletcher. Dockery was picked on immediately, giving up a couple of huge pass plays. And why did the Rams attempt pooch kick with Josh Brown instead of trying for 52 yard field goal? That’s why they brought him in was it not? I already mentioned the third and fourth and long plays that the 49ers converted.
I wish the Rams would make better in-game adjustments. It always seems to rear its ugly head especially in games like this. Football is the ultimate game of adjustments.
No, it won’t prevent the officials for blatantly blowing that pass interference call in overtime. But if your wideout misses a key first down once, and again twice, because he’s trying to make two would-be tacklers miss and then comes up short for the first down … maybe, just maybe, someone should advise the guys to take the positive yards.
That’s not asking too much. Or is it?
