Rams 17, 49ers 31: The Tailspin Begins

The folly of fandom is change. The constant of fandom is change.

This is a pursuit of nonsense.

The Rams, off of a Cowboys loss in which they built a huge lead that evaporated before heading to Philly and nearly undoing a 34-7 deficit, were the host to Monday Night Football tonight. The franchise celebrated a 15-year anniversary of greatness because the past is much more worthy of celebration than the present. They wore the armor of warriors past and tried to convince a city rife with tension, cultural and sports franchise-related, that all was well.

For a while, the dream was real.

The Rams hopped out to a 14-point lead. The offense looked potent. The defense looked capable.

Reality has a way of catching up with you.

The Rams can't help themselves. They're talented, but confused. They're deep, but rotated.

Running backs are brought in and shuffled out without any seeming intent. Wide receivers run routes. None are, accordingly, relied upon. The offensive line suffers. The defensive line suffers worse.

Here we are, 1-2 before the bye and 0-2 to open the Octet of Pain. The roster isn't changing much. The coaches aren't going anywhere.

This is your 2014 season.