Rams Win? Rams Win!

by VanRam on Oct 12, 2008 3:33 PM CDT in Week 6 @ Redskins

This is a new Rams team. We haven't seen a Rams team play inspired football - for four quarters - in a long, long time.

Need proof that things have changed for the better? Look no further than the drive, the game winning drive. As soon as Washington's Clinton Portis pushed it for a TD, after just nine plays, I started to get that old familiar feeling, the same one you got in the last game when the Rams went into the half leading the Bills, the same that kept popping up again and again last season when the Rams would blow a lead. And let's face it, the way the offense played today, the odds of success weren't great. But they came right out, got a quick first down, and then converted a 3rd and 13 with a sweet pass to Donnie Avery, the kind of play we envisioned for the speedy second round draft choice since, well, the draft.

The Rams had the momentum. When was the last time you remember that happening before today?

The stupid Incognito penalty made me wince - but you can't fault them for finally having some intensity. It took some of the success percentage out of the field goal, but not enough to make you seriously worry - well, maybe... And the Rams pull out their first win of the season.

There was a lot to like today. The defense created and took advantage of turnovers, a must for underdogs, and used one to get a TD, giving the struggling offense a boost. The offense, which didn't impress much of the game, pulled it together for an impressive drive. And although the Skins made yards on the ground hard to come by, the Rams still got Steven Jackson the ball to stay alive. They looked lost at times, but I still have to give the offense credit for not turning over the ball. Bulger hasn't played in three weeks. And the line kept him off his back. Granted the Skins aren't the Giants when it comes to sacks, but Jason Taylor back in their lineup would have meant trouble for the line in the first four games of this season.

And the defense... left on the field for a lot of time in the first half, they made it game. LB Pisa Tinoisamoa looked like a new man, speeding around the field, making nice tackles and even picking up a sack. Chris Long had a nice game as well, still showing the occasional rookie mistake but coming right back to contribute, even jumping on a fumble. The reconfigured secondary allowed just 5 pass plays of 15 yards or more, the longest being a 28 pass to Cooley and a 29 yarder to Randle El. No getting snuck behind for a long completion into the end zone. Hell, Craft and Manning each had a sack on the day.

There's a lot more to say, but for now, let's savor the moment. We've earned it.

Poll

Game ball goes to:

Donnie Avery

40 votes

Pisa Tinoisamoa

11 votes

Steven Jackson

8 votes

OJ Atogwe

20 votes

Jason Craft

1 votes

Josh Brown

37 votes

117 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 18 comments |

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The game ball goes to....

Jim Haslett.

How could you not have Jim Haslett on that list?

And you know what? The defense wasn’t on the field nearly as long as I thought it was. Actually, until I read that poll my initial intent was to use the Redskins time of possession as my Subject, but I just looked it up and the Redskins out possessed the Rams 31 minutes to 29 minutes. I would have figured the Skins had it a good 37-39 minutes.

Anyway, what was that penalty all about on Incognito? I was in a bar watching the game with no sound (they, of course, had the Bears game on and since the place was filled with Bear fans, there was some satisfaction to be found) so I wasn’t exactly able to hear what was going on. At first, when I saw who the penalty was on, I said to myself “cut that sonofabitch”. But then they showed it on tv and I still have no idea why they gave him 15 yards. And using my lip-reading skills, I think Jim Haslett agrees because apparently that was B.S.

Overall, great game by the defense and a great final drive by the offense. Told you the defense was going to be inspired today after their guy got promoted to HC. Glad to see Avery being the top man (and I’m starting to look forward to the day Holt retires) and now we just need to get Burton healthy and on the field.

That’s about it for now. I’m sure I’ll think of something else later.

Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.

Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.

by Tackle Box on Oct 12, 2008 3:58 PM CDT 1 recs

Incognito...

Having the sound on wouldn’t have helped much in the way of explanation, but Moose Johnston was going on about what a bonehead he had been all game. The way it looked, he wasn’t penalized for going after the Redskins after the play — the flag wasn’t thrown until after he’d been jawing directly at the referee for a good minute or two. Maybe he said the ‘magic word.’

Intensity is one thing, but this jackassery could have cost the team this incredible win. It’ll be interesting to see how Haslett handles it, or if he does anything at all.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Oct 13, 2008 12:08 AM CDT up 0 recs

I agree.

I was ready to cut his ass, but after I saw it on tv I wasn’t sure what it was and blamed the referee more than Incognito. Sure, he should shut his mouth, but referees need to be thick-skinned. Maybe he did say something that was over the line? Who knows.

I will say though that I really like Incognito. He has more passion and pride in his little finger than most have in their entire bodies. But at some point he has to control it to some extent. I never want him to lose his edge because he’s the type of guy who needs to be extremely intense.

Also, I think having Haslett in charge of everything should help with Incognito. They’re both firery guys and Haslett probably understands Incognito much better than Linehane did.

Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.

Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.

by Tackle Box on Oct 13, 2008 12:17 AM CDT up 0 recs

Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.

Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.

by Tackle Box on Oct 12, 2008 4:51 PM CDT 0 recs

Congratulations, etc.

Go register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Oct 12, 2008 7:19 PM CDT 0 recs

Small consolation...

At least Dallas lost today too, beaten by our former team, with our former quarterback. Good day for the STL…

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Oct 13, 2008 12:12 AM CDT up 0 recs

I told ya we would win 2 outta the 3

That’s 1 for the books.

This team actually cares now. Big difference

by Option27 on Oct 12, 2008 8:16 PM CDT 0 recs

Playing spoiler is very satisfying.

Let’s keep sticking it to “better” teams that we’ll be playing over the next couple of weeks.

Captain, there are doubt's...

by Match Day 5 on Oct 12, 2008 8:52 PM CDT 0 recs

I was wrong about Haslett

I never saw him as part of the solution here. Maybe I was wrong about that. I’m really impressed, not only from the amazing result of the game, but the way they won it. Immediately shrugging off mistakes and bad luck, and facing the next play. This team played with a lot of pride, much more than I would have expected them to have.

Congrats to him, and to the team. Instead of looking forward to next year, I’m actually looking forward to next week!

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Oct 13, 2008 12:05 AM CDT 0 recs

I'm not dubbing him the savior by any means

but two things happened in that game that really goes a long way to win the players over.

1. He lit up that official who gave Incognito the Unsportsmanlike penalty. I’m still not exactly sure what he did that was so wrong, and I have no idea what he was pissed about. But it showed the players he had their back.

Now, I think Linehan would have argued it as well, but there’s a difference. When it happens, you get the feeling Haslett knows what the hell he’s talking about, that he’s serious as hell, and that he’s right. Maybe he’s not, but you get the feeling anyway.

2. He got in to it with a Redskin player for God-knows-what and immediately the players jumped to his defense. Not that he needed the help, but they would have done anything for him.

Once again, he had their backs and he didn’t give a shit who it was, they were gonna get an earful.

But, maybe this stuff wears thin after a while. Seems like it would in New Orleans, but who knows. It was obvious the players had zero respect for Linehan and it looks like they couldn’t have more for Haslett. Bartell was quoted as saying he “looks like a head coach in practice”. That may sound silly, but there’s a whole lot of credence in those words.

Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.

Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.

by Tackle Box on Oct 13, 2008 12:13 AM CDT up 0 recs

Things bounced our way

Well, that’s one way for Haslett to start his run at the top.
I’m hesitant to get too excited, partly because I’m a realist, and partly because I’m still hesitant to believe we can make the playoffs so I want as high a draft pick as possible.
The reality is, we fumbled away the ball on our 4 on our second play of the game. We did nothing the first half until Atogwe took the fumble in. We gave away a nine point lead in the last quarter. Until the pass to Avery, Bulger had thrown for just 93 yards.
It wasn’t pretty, but hell, a W is a W and sometimes you have to win ugly. To credit Haslett, we couldn’t win ugly under Linehan; it was just ugly.

by 3k on Oct 13, 2008 12:58 AM CDT 0 recs

All good points

We definitely saw the offense sputter early, and the defense tire late, but the important thing was that we didn’t see a collectively bad team on the field at once. Each squad picked up the other – the defense held the Redskins in check in the first half, then created their own good luck with an aggressive hands-up pass rush and good ball-hawking. Then when the defense began their inevitable fourth-quarter fade, the offense came through big time.

That’s how you win ugly. You win as a team. Credit Haslett for making this sorry bunch back into a team again.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Oct 13, 2008 4:01 PM CDT up 0 recs

Oh, and I forgot special teams

Dante Hall’s general crappiness shouldn’t take away from the fact that we owned the Redskins in special teams. Donnie Jones won us the field position battle and helped us operate a “bend but don’t break” defense, especially compared to whoever their punter is. And Josh Brown is simply money. If we start giving Avery kick return duty, we could wind up with a top-5 special teams unit. This is stark improvement from the Martz days.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Oct 13, 2008 4:18 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yes indeed Jim Haslett has every ones respect

in just one game and we can all feel that we have a real head coach what a change from Linehan, the players and the fans have responded like i knew they would i have been saying this since september , not saying that this game went perfect in fact we are lucky we were able to win, our offence sucked big time, no the players but the play calling by Saunders, Haslett has to talk to him or take over for him ,its not working out , we have good taletned players on offence to see this kind of game being playd,Saunders sucks we need some one to call the plays for the offence ,he is so pridictable in his game plan,and passing the ball to Tory Holt 5 times for 20 yeards ,?please wht is this little dink passes to Holt, and no more passes to the side line for one and two yards, rediculos plays, the ball should be going down field for minimum of 15 yerds per play or dont pass at all ,

by james535 on Oct 13, 2008 6:32 AM CDT 0 recs

Josh Brown

Made four field goals including the game winner. He has to be the one the game ball goes to. I did see the Avery catch on reply — phenominal.

Anyone know if or when the game will be replayed on NFL Network, for all those fans outside the televised area.

by sccardsfan on Oct 13, 2008 9:31 AM CDT 0 recs

+1

Vote Brown!

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Oct 13, 2008 3:55 PM CDT up 0 recs

The nice thing about this win...

is that it was one of those “dagger-to-the-heart” finishes that we have been on the losing end of so many times since the end of the “Greatest Show” seasons…and having Josh Brown on our side this time makes it even sweeter.

I’m not gonna kid myself…it was an ugly win, and still we have a long way to go, even in the NFC West…but this is a nice start on the road back to respectability.

by tbell61 on Oct 13, 2008 9:34 AM CDT 0 recs