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The Rams are the third-most penalized team in the NFL. At this rate, that's not going to change.
The first half was emotionally capped off with a kickoff returned by Chris Givens for a crucial touchdown...that was called back on a holding call. Throw in a Sam Bradford INT, a stripped ball on Sam when Shelley Smith left Muhammad Wilkerson relatively untouched off the line, and a key Lance Kendricks fumble that negated what would have been a first down conversion...the offense is tough to watch today. Oh, and Danny Amendola has injured his heel.
The game's not lost. The Rams have moved the ball relatively well, especially on the ground where AxJax and D-Rich have combined for 68 yards on just 12 rushes. But the mistakes have to stop. You can't run the first 20 miles of a marathon and shoot yourself in the foot to make sure you don't finish. And the defense, considering the position they've been put in so often with the offensive miscues, has done an admirable job.
The short of it is this - the Rams have to play better offense by not defending themselves as well as they have.
Welcome to the confusion that is the 2012 St. Louis Rams.