It's hard to think about the Rams matchups lately. On paper, the NIners game played to this team's strengths or at least favored us in certain matchups. For example, the 49ers came into that game with a highly susceptible pass defense, something the Rams could have easily exploited if they passed efficiently, didn't have to be perfect, and kept hte ball out of opponents' hands. But, it didn't quite work out that way, did it? We can argue about when the game fell apart, but the sequence that started with a Marc Bulger fumble and ended with a Bulger INT a short while later, gave SF two easily scores and put the game out of reach.
The issue for the Rams is one of consistency. The week before last, the offensive line got manhandled by the Jets front seven. Their play improved against SF, admittedly not as strong a defensive front as the Jets, but they opened lanes for the runners and did well in pass protection. Scrolling down the roster, you can see other examples of up and down performances from individuals. The bottom line, however, is this: If key players - looking at you Marc Bulger - can at least play error, turnover free, the Rams have a chance.
That certainly makes dissecting the matchups against the Bears for this week's game all the more difficult. Fortunately, the Bears feature some consistency problems of their own. Prior to their week 10 game against the Packers, the Bears had one of the league's top run defenses. Then Ryan Grant ran all over them for 145 yards. At least one observer surmised that the porous run defense resulted from overcompensating for a vulberable secondary.
The Bears offense, which had shown some promise earlier in the season, lapsed too, scoring a measly 3 points in that game. And now, dealing with a level of inconsistency so familiar to us Rams fans, calls for sweeping changes to the roster and coaching staff echo throughout the Chicago media.
The big difference, though, is their 5-5 record, which, to 2 win team, sounds a lot like billionaires complaining that they're only millionaires now.