I don't think anyone can say they are not angry after that game. I know a lot is going to be said about how they improved so much so fast, and that no one could imagine them being one win out of the playoffs, but that loss just doesn't cut it for me. There are no "almosts" in the NFL. This is a professional team, and anything that isn't a win is a loss (at least to Donovan McNabb). The fact of the matter is the Rams had the chance to go to the playoffs, and they blew it.
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Officiating Let's get this out of the way first: The ref's sucked. Whether it was the insane spot to give the Seahawks, the blown calls (on both sides of the ball), or even the 'no timeout' timeout Pete Carroll called, the refs left a foul taste in the mouth of any fan who watched that game. |
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Sam Bradford, QB It was too bad that Bradford had his worst game when the Rams needed him most. He was generally un-poised and streaky, and reminded the entire country that he's only just a rookie with that horrible interception. Mike Silver over at Yahoo! Sports had a piece about starting AJ Feeley over Bradford, because he thought this game might be too much for him to handle; unfortunately he was right. Last but not least, a Ping Pong table? Seriously Bradford? 78 million dollars and that's ALL you buy? |
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Laurent Robinson and Danario Alexander, WR Laurent Robinson was a starter. That's probably the most embarrassing thing you can say about him. Danario missed balls that he absolutely HAD to catch. You could lump Daniel Fells in here with them. The lack of Uh-Oh at tight end really hurt the Rams, who desperately need some options at WR.
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Steven Jackson, RB It seemed that Steven Jackson was the only one on the team (players or otherwise) that realized this was a playoff game. He gave everything he had, and turned horrible run blocking into positive yards. |
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Steve Spagnuolo You MIGHT be able to forgive the coaching staff for that Robinson in/out of bounds catch, depending on how nice you were feeling (or how many beers you had drunk at that time). But there is absolutely NO excuse for not challenging that spot that even Chris Collinsworth knew was dead wrong.There is a point in the season that you just have to go all-in and hope your gamble pays off. You'd hope a head coach would realize this, 9 minutes left in the season. He didn't, and looked like a fool in the process.
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And the Saints head to Seattle for a preseason game before the playoffs.