Rams Roundup
By Palmer L. Alexander III
Pure domination
Rams 4-6 going into bye week
On the opening kickoff of the game against the Indianapolis Colts, Rams reserve running back Isaiah Pead was hit with a 15-yard penalty. I sat and quietly shook my head, trying not to mutter something negative. Then another penalty flag against the Rams. Eighteen seconds into the football game and the Rams already had two penalties.
Now I’m standing with my arms folded giving the television the death stare, because I’ve seen this movie before. Like when the Rams started out 8-8 with Scott Linehan as head coach in 2006, only to implode the following two seasons. Same with Coach Steve Spagnuolo.
And then all of a sudden, Robert Quinn knocked the ball out of Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck’s throwing hand, Rams defensive lineman Chris Long picked up the loose ball and ran 45 yards the other way for a touchdown.
Just that fast, the Rams were up 7-0. They never looked back. The St. Louis Rams put together an all-around performance. Nothing but pure domination in all three phases of the game: defense, offense and special teams.
On offense, the Rams had another solid game running the football with 140 total rushing yards. Zac Stacy got bottled up most of the afternoon, but Bennie Cunningham did well when Stacy had to come off the field for a breather. Quarterback Kellen Clemens had a very good day, throwing for 247 yards on only 16 pass attempts. Clemens showed some touch on his throws. His 57-yard touchdown strike to Tavon Austin was right on the money. Even though the ball floated out of the screen like on Super Tecmo Bowl on the original Nintendo 16-bit gaming system, the end result was a touchdown. Most important: no flags.
The Rams were flagged eight times, but none of the penalties wiped out a score. Tavon Austin had an exciting afternoon, totaling over 300 all-purpose yards and all three of his touchdowns were for 50-plus yards. One of his three scores included a 98-yard punt return for a score.
The special teams unit did a fine job tackling, and punter Johnny Hekker had a great game including a 61-yard bomb of a punt that was covered perfectly by the special team unit.
The defense forced five turnovers, including three interceptions in the red zone. The run support was phenomenal. Plus, the Colts had no choice but to abandon the run because of the lopsided score.
Now the Rams are 4-6 going into the bye week, feeling good about themselves, and they should. Nobody I knew picked them to win on the road, especially after two straight gut-wrenching losses, but Jeff Fisher kept this team’s spirits up and they fought hard.
After the bye week, the Rams have six games remaining. But, which Rams team will we see? Will it be the team I saw dominate a good Colts team (on the road, mind you)? Or will it be the team that lost two winnable games at home in a row?
It’s compelling, no matter how you slice it, and once again I see why Stan Kroenke paid big bucks for Jeff Fisher’s coaching services.
