Expect plenty of analysis from all fronts tonight and tomorrow talking about the beginning of the season. The Rams unfortunately couldn't come away with the win today, but came very close. Here's a quick look at ten players who made a positive (or negative) impact on the game.
The Quick Five:
|
|
Mark Clayton, WR Did Billy Devaney really make it look that easy? Whatever happened in Oklahoma when Clayton and Bradford practiced together sure made a difference in a good way. It's been a long time since the Rams had a 100 yard receiver. |
|
|
Craig Dahl, SS James Butler who? This is what I absolutely love to see. Players are given a shot, and they hustle and make the most of it. Craig Dahl laid on same great hits and kept the Rams chances alive late in the game. |
|
|
Sam Bradford, QB Yes, he threw three interceptions. Yes, his completion percentage was below 60%. But can you really blame a last chance pick on Sam Bradford? The one before that as well, when it's fourth down, your running to avoid a sack, you just have to throw the ball. He threw it too many times for my taste, but he sure had a cannon for an arm. It wasn't a win, but this was one of the most exciting games the Rams have played in a long time. |
|
|
Clifton Ryan, DT Tough call here, but seriously Cliff, you have to hold on to the ball. This game would have turned out pretty differently if he would at least held on to the ball. I know, he's a big guy, he probably got tired and in all seriousness, that doesn't happen all too often. But that's the thing that can cost teams games, and make good players great. Yeah, he didn't see the guy, but he should have treated that ball like a delicious cake... even if his body was tired, his mind shouldn't been. |
|
|
Coaching (Clock Management) Spagnuolo isn't a rookie coach anymore. Like the announcers kept saying, the Rams wasted about 10-15 seconds on the final drive of the game. I understand the idea of saving timeouts until you absolutely must take one, but there was at least one missed opportunity to save the Rams some serious time. It may not seem like much but hell, they had two timeouts. Burn one, and you can save the last one. But I give Shurmur credit for having the cajones to run the ball on a 4th and 1 with 10 seconds left in the game. |
Tough day for Rams fans. Judging from what we saw, the Rams definitely have a chance to win some games this year.