What a close game that was. It came right down to the wire, and win or lose, you have to be excited for this team. Granted, they still made mistakes (dropped balls hurt quite a bit) but this team came in and was ready to play. Looking at the schedule after this game, there doesn't appear to be a game that is out of reach. They played their hearts out against the Saints and they should be proud of the performance they put up against such a dominant team.
Some notes:
- I'd have to disagree with VanRam, I think Marc Bulger deserved the game ball. We clearly expect more from the coaches then we do of him, and he clearly went above his expectations. He had nearly 300 yards, completed 65% of his passes and threw two touchdowns to Donnie Avery. He came out sluggish, but after that, began to throw like we expect a 9 million dollar quarterback to throw. If it wasn't for drops by Danny Amendola and Randy McMichael (Daniel Fells could have had that 2 point conversion too) the game would probably have a much different outcome. He wasn't perfect, but he's always been the quarterback that no matter how good he is playing, you always have that "don't throw an INT," in the back of your head. This is definitely one of his better games and it will be interesting to see if this was a blip on the radar or a turning point for him.Tip of the hat for you, Marc.
- Where the hell did Brandon Gibson come from? He put on such a great performance today that makes you wonder why he wasn't involved earlier. It was clear he didn't have everything play-wise down, but it didn't seem to matter. He has a bright future ahead of him. Overall, the WR's probably had their best game (I expect drops by this point in the season). It is a shame Laurent Robinson was lost for the season, because they are starting to show some real promise.
- McMichael and Barron have to go. Anything less then a swift kick out the door is unacceptable at this point. McMichael's glory days are long past him, and Fells has made his point to at least be given the opportunity to start. Barron's case is a little more interesting, but enough is enough. He had another false start penalty to add to his resume and as Bill Coats points out, even if Bulger would have completed that 4th down, last play pass, it wouldn't have mattered, because our favorite whipping boy was flagged for holding anyway. Let's face it, Jammal Brown is clearly the better tackle of that draft class and it's unfortunate that the Rams had two opportunities to get him and failed to do so.
- The Saints made excellent adjustments against the Rams after the half and the Rams did not. The questionable play calling continues. By this point, it's clear Samkon Gado (or any other RB not named Steven Jackson) just isn't able to carry the load.
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Chris Long now has two sacks. Two games in a row...I'm just saying. Just like the Laurent Robinson injury, it's a shame Bradley Fletcher got hurt as bad as he did. It's too bad that rising players like those two are out, it would be nice to see what they could do when the team finally starts to mesh (which seems to be right about now). Gary Gibson's injury hurts not only because it was because of a dirty play, but because we have glaring holes on the defensive line. The case for Suh grows stronger, but at this point, I'm not sure if we will be high enough in the draft to snag him without trading up.