The St. Louis Rams has flirted with the .500 barrier all season long.
And with the season and a possible playoff spot on the line, the Rams moved one step closer with a big 25-17 win against the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams’ victory against the 49ers has now set the stage for one of the biggest games in the young careers of rookie quarterback Sam Bradford and second-year head coach Steve Spagnuolo.
The Rams will visit the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West Division title and a berth in the upcoming playoffs next Sunday night. The game has been moved to prime-time and will be televised nationally on NBC.
Bradford has struggled some the last couple of weeks, and it looked at times he was laboring while in the pocket. Earlier in the season he would take off out of the pocket as compared to now, and that’s not a bad thing as long as he doesn’t hold the ball too long or take any unnecessary hits.
But, Bradford still continues to amaze us with the players he has around him on offense. The second half of the football game, Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur called for more pass plays since the running game stalled out against the 49ers. And Bradford responded heartily completing 80 percent of his passes in the second half. I’m not talking a cheesy 4/5 80 percent. I’m talking about 16 out of 20 80 percent.
Man, does the offense look different when the Rams find wide out Danario Alexander on a consistent basis. Since he’s been added to the roster he gives Bradford a true threat from any part of the field. And Danario has done plenty so far to show how tough he is as a wide out and the only question I ever had was the hands and he shut that down real fast. Plus, he adds some toughness. Danario is not afraid to fight for a couple extra yards and he’s willing to use his tall frame to get that extra inch to move the chains.
The defense returned back to the form that has put them in the position to win the NFC West division. Defensive end James Hall is having a phenomenal season. On Sunday, he registered 1.5 sacks and he forced two fumbles. He now has ten for the season. He was all over the field making plays and creating havoc. Chris Long is also inching close to double digit sacks recording a sack and forcing a fumble. Long now has 8.5 sacks and defensive tackle Fred Robbins had a sack and a now have career best six sacks for the season and recovered fumble.
Special teams was big with three field goals from Josh Brown and a 84 yard return from Danny “Crazy Legs” Amendola, despite giving up punt return for a touchdown. I’d like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year.
