I would say that the St. Louis Rams’ modest two-game winning streak came to a screeching halt.
However, using tha cliché would have people wanting to lock me up. I would say the Rams dropped the ball in the 44-6 loss to the Detroit Lions, but that actually happened.
I would say thank goodness the defense and special teams are the most consistent part of this rebuilding team. Ahh, dang! There is some more poor tackling and another dropped interception.
But, look at it like this. That was only one loss.
I’m not going to go sour on this team because they got blown out by the Detroit Lions. That loss was probably a good thing.
The Rams were starting to feel good about themselves and they should. They beat a good Washington team at home. They beat a division rival (Seattle) the following week. Then came the “trap game “with the Lions.
The botched onside kick to open the game did not lose the game for them. They held the Lions to a field goal after that.
The red-zone fumble by wide out Danny Amendola started it. The season-ending injury to wide out Mark Clayton was the little pebble at the top of the mountain that started to roll down the icy slope. The 105-yard kick off return by Stefan Logan became that snowball. Then came the dropped interception by cornerback Ron Bartell. Avalanche!
But, the one thing that stuck out more than anything else in the defeat last Sunday was the lack of a playmaking receiver. It reared its ugly head again. Of the 45 passes that Sam Bradford threw, 34 of them were for 10 yards or less. You cannot win if you cannot stretch the field. How is it you draft a quarterback that high and give him no weapons at his disposal? Look at the production that Bradford was getting from Mark Clayton before his injury.
Can you imagine if he had more than one option? I’m a Danny Amendola fan. But, you not going to win a lot of games when he’s catching 12 passes and then don’t even go over 100 yards in receiving (95 yards last Sunday).
What’s wrong with fellow wide outs Laurent Robinson and Brandon Gibson? They get open more often than given credit for, but they have questionable hands.
The ugliness of the schedule is about to start. The San Diego Chargers come to St. Louis this weekend and then there is a stiff road test against the much-improved Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And the rookie quarterback is going to have to finish the rest of the season without his most reliable receiver. Now, teams are going to condense the field even more knowing the Rams don’t have a deep threat.
