It isn’t over ‘til it’s over or the fat lady sings—but the 2019 season is over for the Los Angeles Rams

Well the Los Angeles Rams 2019 playoff hopes came to a crashing end in Dallas, losing to the Cowboys 44-21. While technically not out of the playoffs, anyone expecting the Minnesota Vikings to lose their last two games and the Rams to win the last two games especially after Sunday’s performance are reaching quite a bit.

In my opinion, the 2019 season, despite the injuries to the offensive line, despite RB Todd Gurley’s knee saga and the Rams’ inexplicable defensive lapses having had opponents score more then 40 points in three games this year, this season came to down to QB Jared Goff regressing, rather then growing. Goff is not yet capable of winning a game with his arm. Without Gurley or anyone else playing the running back position being productive, Goff has been inconsistent. He clearly failed the test to this point on earning that $34m contract extension.

Jared’s young enough to learn and put this season behind him, however, but in this quarterback-driven league, he is going to have to step up and make plays when the offense struggles rushing the football in order for the Rams to have any future success.

The first thing Goff needs to do is start out games better.

The Dallas game was a perfect example of Goff’s slow starts. The Cowboys were stacking the box with their linebackers setting themselves closer to line of scrimmage to stop the run. Gurley had nowhere to go. The only way out of this is to throw the ball effectively and accurately to the wide receivers so they can spread out the defense in response. But unfortunately in this game, Goff was wildly erratic. Having started the game poorly, he ended the first half by making a bad decision which he has been prone to do throughout the season. The interception led to a fourth touchdown in the first half giving the Cowboys an insurmountable 28-7 halftime lead.

The game was over, and so was any real chance the Rams had to make the playoffs this year.

A final goodbye to the 2019 season and a lot more

The parent company of TST has initiated a new protocol for writing on the site in response to California’s new independent contractor law.

As a result, this will be my last post on TST.

I’ve enjoyed every word, paragraph and page I’ve written and had published on the site. I have kept a printed copy of my articles in several notebook binders as my official life’s diary about how I was feeling the last three years about my Rams.

Looking back, I will never forget the day, I received an email from 3k inviting me to apply for a position as staff writer for my favorite team. In hindsight I’m sure 3k would have wished his e-mail had gone into my “spam” box where it would’ve been ignored or deleted. When I was introduced to my TST team members, I learned that I’m at least 30 years older then most of the other staff writers, so they decided to coin the moniker “The Professor” onto me.

This probably had more to do with my ability to answer their football questions then my age, like: “What’s the purpose of those guys holding that thing with a chain on it?” or “Why are there numbers going from one to four on that other sign” or “Who are those people wearing black and white checkered clothes?”

During our staff discussions I would try to patiently answer their football questions, but I had to be constantly reminded to be more “politically correct” with my answers, especially with my comments on how the Rams were playing, or my thoughts on their upcoming opponents. To this, I let everyone know that at my age I don’t give a hoot about their feelings and they should just get over it! But my fellow TST bloggers will have to admit, there’s likely no one more passionate about the Rams then me. I live my life vicariously through this football team. The Rams have always been and are the centerpiece of my existence being the cornerstone foundation of who I am and what I will be remembered for.

My mother says I’m an idiot. She cannot fathom how an educated person like me would allow his life to be controlled by an absurd obsession with a football team. My wife tolerates it. And my children now carry on the legacy started by their grandfather in 1947.

There will always be one of us at a Los Angeles Rams home game. None of us will ever miss watching an away game on television. That’s the way its been for me since 1958, and that’s the way it will remain having secured my family’s legacy for the future with SSL(s) in the new spectacular SoFi Stadium. The only condition I put on my kids was when they get the refund in fifty years which is part of the SSL deal, they have to throw the money into my Rams-adorned coffin.

What I will miss most about TST is the ability to express my frustration and anger when the Rams lose (it has saved me lots of money on TVs) and the joy and happiness it brings to diehards like me when they win.

I do read comments and take to heart the opinions of others—we all do at TST.

I’m often asked why I dress the way I do for a Rams game. To be honest, if you can find something in life that you feel that passionate about, then you should put your heart into it. At my age it doesn’t bother me that others think its obnoxious, outrageous or ostentatious. I don’t do it for others, I do it for me.

The road to success is filled with potholes, but if you fall, like being tackled, get up off the ground and plow ahead. Eventually you will find the treasure at the end of the rainbow.

My final advice to my fellow Rams diehards is simple.

“Never give up on your Super Bowl dreams.”

I probably created in my mind unrealistic expectations of the 2019 Los Angeles Rams, but there’s no reason to believe that next year they can’t win the Super Bowl. At least that’s what I believe—EVERY YEAR, because I love the Rams.

To all of my readers, thanks for your contributions and Happy Holidays (See: I’m learning how to be politically correct).

To my fellow TST brothers, thanks for the memories, stay in touch.

A new era of Los Angeles Rams begins next year in Inglewood, I will always call the Coliseum the home of the Rams even though it lacks the amenities of a modern football stadium.

I’ve spent the most memorable moments of my life there, and will miss it.

As always and forever GO RAMS!