The St. Louis Rams’ playoff hopes, dreams, and aspirations were just obliterated by Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings last weekend.
Peterson gashed the Rams defense for 212 yards on 24 carries. However, on two of his 24 carries he amassed 134 yards in the 36-22 win against the Rams. On Peterson’s first eight carries he had eight yards. The Rams defense was stout and refused to give way early in the contest.
And that was until Rams coaching staff on defense decided to guess that the Vikings would pass on first and 10 from their own 18 yard line. The end result was an 82-yard run that let the air out of the Rams defense, and the entire Edwards Jones Dome on fan appreciation day.
Why would the Rams coaching staff deviate from what has been working for them over the last three weeks? It just didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Of course, the young Rams are improving and pulled out a couple of tough wins. But, they also need the coaching staff to stick with what’s been working.
Before the Vikings took the lead and never looked back, the Rams opening drive ended abruptly. On the first offensive series, the Rams came out in shotgun formation. That was totally opposite of what we’ve seen over this recent three game winning streak that had stoked the fan base to even think about a possible playoff run.
I thought the Rams would run the ball more and try to control the clock and keep the ball away from Adrian Peterson. That never happened. The Rams were down so fast by the end of the second quarter 30-7 that they had no choice but to throw the football. And from a statistical standpoint Sam Bradford had a great day with a career high 377 yards and three touchdowns. However, Bradford fumbled a snap, threw a pick six, misfired on a few throws, and was sacked four times.
But when the pocket breaks down, Bradford goes into the fetal position. And that’s why some fans are upset with him. Especially, after watching how Christian Ponder avoided a sack and scored the first touchdown of the contest. Nevertheless, even with the Rams playoff hopes gone they still can finish with a winning record if they win their last two games.
Congrats to North County Tech
I’d like to personally congratulate Don Boyce and the North County Tech Golden Eagles on winning the Lutheran (St. Charles) tournament last weekend. And I also would like to wish all our readers and my colleagues a Merry Christmas.
