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Gauging the reactions to the Rams win over the Chiefs

The St. Louis Rams abused the Kansas City Chiefs in a 17-9 win to conclude the preseason.

More photos » by Seth Perlman - AP

The St. Louis Rams abused the Kansas City Chiefs in a 17-9 win to conclude the preseason.

Here's a look at what's being said about the St. Louis Rams victory over the Chiefs to conclude the preseason.

What does a winning preseason mean? Nothing really, but the PD reminds us what happened the last two times the Rams had a winning preseason since coming to St. Louis:

That may or may not be a good thing, because in two of the three previous winning preseasons, the Rams coach was fired at the end of the year. The Rams finished 3-1 in 1996, with Rich Brooks fired after a 6-10 regular season. The Rams also went 3-1 during the 2005 preseason, with Mike Martz fired after another 6-10 regular season.

Funny how things change. A 6-10 season would be a huge improvement for the Rams and give Steve Spagnuolo some job security.

Star-divide

Though a decision has yet to be officially made, Brock Berlin made a strong closing argument to retain his grasp on the 3rd QB job. Spagnuolo liked what he saw from Berlin:

He showed me a little grit getting in there. He would have had the first down but he said ‘Na, I’m not going to take the first down, I’m going to get the six points.’ So that was good to see.

From the PD, here's Bill Coats' take on Berlin's scoring drive:

The 15-play, 85-yard, 7 1/2-minute drive in the second quarter, engineered by QB Brock Berlin, was masterful

Masterful indeed. Brian Burwell came away from the game more than pleased with the development of the Rams first round pick, OT Jason Smith. Burwell even proclaimed that the kid should be starting.

The best thing you could say about what Smith did in his final preseason game was this: He made progress. He looked better against the Chiefs than he did against the Jets three weeks ago. He looked better than he did two weeks ago against Atlanta, and he looked better than he did last week against the Bengals.

Next week the real fun begins, and Spagnuolo acknowledges that the Rams are taking nothing for granted in this mix metaphor he offered last night:

We know the mountain is going to get a lot tougher when we tee it up next week. Everybody has step it up a notch, that's what the NFL is all about.

A telling stat from last night's game at Arrowhead Pride:

Third down conversions: Chiefs were 3/16 (18%) and the Rams were 9/20 (45%).

You can take all the total yards you want, it's when the big plays happen and what happens after them that matter.

More from Arrowhead Pride. The Chiefs got 184 yards on just four of t heir total 62 offensive plays. Here's AP's take on those four plays:

Savage's run was more the result of poor tackling by the Rams than anything else. Sean Ryan's 40-yard pass did help set up a Ryan Succop field goal. Larry Johnson's efforts were soured near the goal line after his run. The Chiefs committed offensive holding and then a delay of game penalty pushed them back from the Rams 6-yard line to the 21-yard line. Thigpen's pass to Lelie was just slop.

He's absolutely right about Savage's run in the second quarter. Watch it on the highlight reel posted below at about the 0:53 second mark. I can't tell which Rams players were in there, but clearly it should not have happened. I think this team, partly because of age an inexperience, is going to give up some big plays this season. The key is how they respond to them, and, right now, it looks like they'll bounce back well.

Here's another Chiefs take on the game and the Rams:

A major stinker was Thursday night’s game between the Rams and Chiefs at the Edward Jones Dome. St. Louis grabbed the 17-9 victory to finish the pre-season with a 3-1 record. That may be more games than the Rams win during the regular season. First-year head coach Steve Spagnuolo has a struggling team with few offensive weapons, a banged up quarterback and a defense that’s working hard.

You know how the national media looooves the Rams, here's the only mention of last night's game in SI.com's write up of the evening from Don Banks:

Speaking of recently fired offensive coordinators, it would seem with or without Chan Gailey, the Chiefs still have some work to do on that side of the ball. In its 17-9 loss at St. Louis on Thursday, Kansas City rolled up 406 yards of offense but only converted that production into three field goals.


Hey, it's a win, preseason or not, those have been rare enough around these parts that we'll take it. Now, let's get ready to storm the Seahawks.

0 recs  |  Comment 6 comments |

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Detroit was 4-0 last season.

I’m just sayin’……..

Heck, the Rams were 2-2. We’ll know exactly what we have next weekend at about 12:30 pm Central.

"F@*& Lidge and the horse he rode in on!"

-Cards Fan in Chitown, via text message shortly after the VEB Get Together Day.

by Tackle Box on Sep 4, 2009 12:20 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

I missed the game, but...

didn’t our defense get gashed for over 400 yards? If so, you usually don’t win many contests where that happens.

by edpjr on Sep 4, 2009 1:21 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Defense looked a bit rough at times...but held in there

that said, I’m starting to really like our young corners…

Then again, any secondary without Tye Hill is a plus to me.

Any idiot would know that.

by Epic on Sep 4, 2009 2:22 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Carriker

is the one who let Savage get through on that run.

Turf Show Times

by VanRam on Sep 4, 2009 3:21 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Carriker needs to join Hill and Klop

Carriker’s constant injuries and poor play are a distraction to the whole team. Let’s face it, he needs to hit the road just like our other failed high draft picks. Maybe we could get a 7th round pick for him too…? Once again, Thanks alot Lineham….

by edpjr on Sep 4, 2009 8:03 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Ugh...

I’ve been dying to find out what happened this game after having to work yesterday and all day today. I’m happy to find out we won.

Looks like Ogbannaya put in some effort to be #3. We have any word yet on RBs on the depth chart?

Receivers don’t look like they’re doing too bad either.

I feel decent about this season, which is a little bit scary.

THIS year's the year. I hope....

by thisguy on Sep 4, 2009 11:07 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

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