Chill Out, Ram Nation!
by since1969 on Oct 24, 2010 5:53 PM CDT
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I'm already seeing a lot of negative response about today's loss to the Bucs. I expected as much but I don't like it. It's going to sound like I'm making excuses but I'm not. I'm merely going to explain a loss like this and then hope that we can avoid a little bit of the "sky is falling" attitude.
First of all, I've already read a couple of really negative posts on TST and I don't get it. Isn't this a Ram's blog site for Ram's FANS? I certainly undersatnd the frustration but let's face it guys...this team is already 10 times better than anyone could have expected going in to the season. Rome wasn't built in a day and as long as you can see positives every week (and there were some today) you've got to keep the faith. All is NOT lost at 3-4 in the NFC West.
Now, to the game;
This is the kind of game that young, inexperienced teams with rookie QBs lose.
Was this a winable game? Obviously. Should we have won it? Definately. But, one of the BIG steps in going from being a losing team to being a winner is learning how to close out games. We were lucky (and at home) last week. This was almost an identical second half. Start out with a good lead, get conservative on offense which results in 3 and outs which results in a tired 4th quarter defense. ESPECIALLY in that Florida heat and humidity. If we could have managed ONE decent drive and another field goal in the 2nd half, we walk away with the much needed road win. We WILL get the win in games like this and soon. Patience!
Bradford will learn how to win games like this.
Sam plays MUCH better at home. That's common for a rookie. In the future he will learn how to couple up with Jax and put the team on his back when the game is on the line on the road. His numbers were not good today, although he did have 2 TDs and no picks. But he missed some throws and the play selection put him behind the eight ball a lot today. These things will even out.
We didn't give this game away...the home team TOOK it.
And that's going to happen. I would love to have grabbed this road game and had the opportunity to be 5-3 at the break but it just didn't work out that way. I'm not THAT disheartened. Disappointed? Yes. But a one point loss on the road is a lot better than another whoopin' on the road.
The glass half-full.
Ok, so we can't go 5-3 before the break and the second half of the season is, by anyone's estimation, going to be some tough sledding. So we have to take care of business at home next week against Carolina (who just got their first win today) and go 4-4 into the bye. Can we pull 4 wins out of the second half of the season to go 8-8? Honestly...I don't see it but it COULD happen. We'd have to pull a couple of unlikely wins out. But that's what young, developing teams sometimes do. Just like we will occaisionally drop a winable game like this one, we may also win a game or two against all odds. One thing I've seen for sure this season; Every single team (especially in the NFC) is beatable on any given Sunday.
Please!!!! Forget about the playoffs and/or the division tilte...at least for now!
Let's keep our expectations in line. I think that maybe the reaon for a lot of the frustration today is that we all tend to jump to unrealistic expectations after a few good wins. It's understandable. But remember where we were a season or two or three ago. Let's just hope for a few more solid wins and a continued growth on both sides of the ball. The rest will take care of itself.
Congrats to Jax.
Lost in all of the disappointment today is the accomplishment of Mr. Steven Jackson who broke the Ram's all-time rushing record. Hats off to you, Mr.J! Hitting that mark on a team that has boasted the likes of Marshall Faulk and Eric Dickerson is quite an accomplishment indeed.
Don't lose faith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All in all, things could be a lot worse. I think we'll all be surprised to see the changes continue over the next few weeks. Bradford will be able to work more with his recievers (especially Alexander) this week and over the bye. Spags will have time to review play-calling and offensive strategy. I wouldn't be too surprised to see the Rams win a game or two that you wouldn't have expected down the stretch and wind up 7-9 or 8-8. But ya know what? If we finish 5-11 or 6-10, it still beats the hell out of 2008 & 2009. Things are finally falling into place and I, for one, am damn glad to see it.
So...if you can only think of a lot of negative crap to post...please, keep it to yourself. All I've had for the last 5 years is negative crap. Don't need it this year!
Go Rams!
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Carolina.
Need that win for this team after that loss. We’ll get it, we’ve got our 12th man :). GO RAMS!
Take the leash off of the offense pleeeeeeease.
Signed, Rams fan.
Everything I wish my post could have been.
hats off and a REC!
you sire, will hopefully spread about a soothing balm of reason on this blog and in the Ram community.
I have little else to add to your post but hearty praise!
Bradford to Onobun!
That binary for an é symbol
so +é!
"I have something 95 percent of all those All-Stars only wish they had: a World Series ring. If I had to choose between that and being an All-Star, it would be no contest. I’d grab the gold ring and never look back." -Tim Salmon
Duh...
I NEVER said I was giving up on the seaon NOR did I say that there was no way we could win the division. In fact, my whole post was about NOT being negative, Sorry if you misunderstood it.
Hopefully...
Once the secondary is healthy and were not always having to play injured guys and sub them out constantly we’ll be able to pull a win out of a game like todays.
I Agree
but even as optimistic as I am sometimes venting doesn’t hurt. Ive been a Rams fan as well as a Cards fan before they moved and I always pulled for both.
agreed
exspecially about the playoffs part. when the rams won those two games against WAS. and SEA. i was smelling super bowl. lol but i knew the rams werent going to the playoffs this year and i still dont think so. in my post i said i wasnt irate but i am disappointed
by jakem45 on Oct 25, 2010 2:22 PM CDT reply actions
I think we are all guilty
The words “5-3 at the break” seemed to have come up a lot the past three weeks and I am guilty myself. I just wonder if the players are guilty themselves getting all caught up in their new found success. If we all could just concentrate on the task at hand and take this season a drive at a time, good things will happen.
Let’s be honest, everyone tabbed the Lions game as a potential easy win where Bradford and Clayton would have brushed up their skills and padded their stats against a suspect Lions secondary. Didn’t happen. This game against the Bucs, I’m sure a lot of you figured we would finally get our first road win after the Bradford to Alexander show right? Didn’t happen. Now we got the Bucs at home and we figure it will be a return to “normalcy” with an easy home win. Keep in mind, the Panthers just got their first win against the Niners, so now you probably think they won’t be as hungry against us now. Won’t happen. We need to approach that game like a bunch of wild dogs and win that game. If we get a lead, go for the jugular!
Right now we are 3-4 and still have a shot at the division title. Focus on containing Matt Moore, DeAngelo Williams, David Gettis, Steve Smith, Jon Beason, James Anderson and beat Carolina!
Gotta Go To Work!!!
Is it just me, or does Sam Bradford look like he can be one of the Jonas Brothers?
Yep.
I think the players got caught up in their winning as well. They’re young and and in a franchise that has been losers for years now so I don’t blame them, they need to concentrate on every drive though, like you said.
Take the leash off of the offense pleeeeeeease.
Signed, Rams fan.
by douchiedude on Oct 25, 2010 11:37 PM CDT up reply actions
i honestly think it is good for our players to have a playoff mentality just maybe not the fans
After watching alot of the players walk into last years games with their heads already hanging, I like the idea of our young team expecting greatness out of themselves. I actually think they loose that confidence in themselves in the 3rd and that is part of the problem (it isn’t all our OC). As fans, however, we have to remember where our expectations were at the beginning of the year in order to keep them in check now. I said at the beginning of the year that anything over 4 wins was a huge step forward for this team. I still believe that. I may hope and want 8-8 and there is nothing wrong with that but it doesn’t change the fact that they are already making huge steps forward without that .500 record.
The coaching staff was given a well-deserved "F"
in the St. Louis paper today. They made terrible decsions. And what hurts even more is that they refuse to admit it.
Spags gave the Bucs their FG at the end of the first half by calling two timeouts, giving them time to work it down to FG position. He said he thought we could get the ball back and score again. He is still defending that decision today. What he did was give Tampa the FG and let them go into the locker room with an upbeat mood. And we lost by one point when he gave them three at the end of the half. How can he continute to defend that decision? And how can he continue to defend going conservative in the second half game after game?
The Rams had San Diego on the run in the first half and almost gave them the game by getting conservative in the second half. The Rams had Tampa on the run and had them under control before Spags bad time management at the end of the first half (haven’t we heard that before?). Again we got conservative in the second half and this time we lost. Will this be the pattern for the rest of Spags time as head coach? Since he’s defending it all, it sure seems that way.
I can keep rooting for the players since they are playing their guts out. But I can’t continue to root for a coaching staff who fouls it up week after week and don’t even see the problem.
you're focusing on the two TO's
which are standard practice for any team and you are also acting like that lost us the game.
stop making excuses.
in retrospect would he have called them? no, but hindsight is 20/20. ask any other coach in the league if they’d do the same they’d say yes.
what is indefensible is the 2nd half collapse, but we can’t focus on that like it’s the end of the season, there’s a lot of football to be played and we’ve already surpassed a lot of expectations.
the only thing left to do in my eyes besides keep on going is to stay healthy.
Bradford to Onobun!
In retrospect, yes he would have called them
Spagnulo was asked about clock management and the time outs after the game.
“I tell you what, I’d do it again,” Spagnuolo said.
I have been noticing lately that Spagnuolo seems to be very confident in what they’re doing, and when it doesn’t work he resolves to make their execution better rather than their approach. Part of that is confidence in what their doing, and trying to get players to buy into the program. Where that ends, and adjustments need to happen….versus “abandoning your gameplan”….is a judgement call that he has to make.
Consider this from that same article:
You could make a case, although Spagnuolo denied it, that the play calling was too conservative in the second half against San Diego.
“We were in the locker room (at halftime) talking about being aggressive, staying aggressive. I don’t know if it was the effort. I don’t know — maybe the heat. I know our defense was tired at the end. But I don’t have an answer for the lack of points in the second half.” – Spagnuolo
by CoachConnors on Oct 25, 2010 7:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah hindsight is 20/20
but I would have called them as well. Easy opportunity to get the ball back before half and 9 out of 10 teams any team would on a 3rd and 24 with 1:35 left.
Take the leash off of the offense pleeeeeeease.
Signed, Rams fan.
by douchiedude on Oct 25, 2010 11:42 PM CDT up reply actions
Dude, the timeouts have absolutely nothing to do with why we lost.
Blame it entirely on the second half. A 17-6 halftime lead is still VERY good and any normal coach would have called those timeouts. Please, you’re seriously telling me that you’ve never seen a coach call all of there timeouts a minute and a half before halftime to get the ball back one last time? We had 1:35 seconds left ON A THIRD AND FREAKING TWENTY-FOUR. 3rd and 24! You expect your team to stop that, who the hell would have thought Josh Freeman would have broken loose for a 25 yard run?! That’s 110%, entirely on the players, not Spags. That was just horrible containment and horrible defense overall by the team, we should have stopped that 3rd and 25 and gotten the ball back once more. We’ve showed we can put up at least 3 points in those situations (Seattle being one example). Now the second half, that’s on the coaching staff, and that is why we lost.
Take the leash off of the offense pleeeeeeease.
Signed, Rams fan.
by douchiedude on Oct 25, 2010 11:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Spaggs is as green as a head coach as the rookies are as players
I give him the same patients I do with the players. He will stumble a few times and make a few errors. It wasn’t all the coaches this game though. Do the coaches need to learn to make better adjustments and half time and play less conservatively in the 3rd ….. absolutely. Is this loss all on them…. absolutely not. Bradford was off, our secondary is in shambles, our recievers aren’t clicking, and our Defense couldn’t catch an interception to save their lives. It was a total team effort that happens sometimes. I keep hoping they will turn around their 3rd quarters THIS YEAR because if they can come out and play 4 quarters next year the way they have learned now to play the first 2 quarters, we are going to be a force to be reckoned with next year. Here’s to an awesome future as a Rams fan!!!!
Someone needs an "F"
thats for sure! At least Sam gave himself one, I guess the coaching staff should step up and take theirs. Do you think it might be that this whole team except for SJ are rooks? I meant Spaggs is a rook too.
I see a win next week based on embaresment, and it really is starting to look like the only teams we can beat are the ones nobody thinks we can win. And I mean big names like the Falcons, wouldn’t that be sweet. I’d take that win if it was the only win we got the rest of the season.
I would too.
Consistency comes with experience, we’re one of the least experienced teams. However, if we can beat some more big named teams like the Saints, Chiefs or the Falcons then that shows we’re capable of beating any team, we just can’t stay consistent.
Take the leash off of the offense pleeeeeeease.
Signed, Rams fan.
by douchiedude on Oct 25, 2010 11:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Great Article!!
Just remember that even though this is a Rams fan site, it is also a site for all Ram’s fans to lay out their emotions with others and use this site to vent and be talked down from that venting too. I don’t mind the “sky is falling” emotions coming out in some after a very tough loss. That is how they are feeling and what better place to lay those frustations out on the table than here amongst friends. By Thursday, they feel better. They have analyzed it some more, put it in it’s place, and are ready to cheer on the Rams the next game. Part of that is because the positive fans post articles like this to get them noticing the upsides in the loss. Good job!
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